By Human Rights Press Staff
July 16, 2024, 10:00 am ET
A surge in Jewish settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank is prompting international outcry as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government expands its hold on the occupied territory, claiming more land and allegedly providing tacit military support to extremists, according to rights activists.
On Monday, the European Union sanctioned five Israeli settlers, two outposts, and an extremist group for “serious and systematic human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank,” according to a statement from the European Council. The United States also imposed sanctions last week on Israelis and entities in the West Bank that the State Department said incited violence against Palestinians or encroached on Palestinian land.
Peace Now, an Israeli organization monitoring Jewish settlements, criticized the Israeli government for not enforcing its laws and for being complicit in the settler violence.
The West Bank, home to about 2.7 million Palestinians and over 500,000 settlers, was seized by Israel from Jordan in 1967. Despite international consensus that the settlements are illegal, and some violating Israeli law, settlers live under Israeli civil law while Palestinians are subject to Israeli military law. Palestinians argue that the settlements hinder the creation of a future independent state by fragmenting necessary land.
The recent war with Hamas in Gaza has provided Israel’s right-wing government, keen on West Bank expansion, a pretext to support settlers under the guise of increased security amid heightened tensions, some rights groups claim.
Hagit Ofran of Peace Now’s “Settlement Watch” project noted that the military has restricted access to large areas of the West Bank, limiting Palestinian movement and benefiting settlers. “In every settlement, you now have reserve soldiers who are settlers and who take extremist measures against Palestinians,” Ms. Ofran said, describing them as an “armed militia.”
Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler responsible for policies expanding Israeli control over the West Bank, is reallocating military authority to settlers for civil administration, effectively consolidating control. In a secretly recorded speech, Mr. Smotrich detailed plans to transfer authority from the military to his civilian administration while deflecting international scrutiny.
