Samer Mesoud, a farmer from the Palestinian town of Burqa in the occupied West Bank, experienced a distressing incident when he received a call notifying him that the family’s barn had been set on fire by a group of Jewish settlers. Upon returning to the scene, Mesoud’s attempts to control the fire were hindered by Israeli soldiers who fired tear gas at him as he tried to fetch water. Mesoud expressed his frustration, gesturing to the burned down building and stating that his livelihood was now lost. This act of arson, confirmed by Israeli human rights group Yesh Din, is part of a series of escalating settler violence against Palestinians under Israel’s far-right government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, installed in December 2019.
Data from the United Nations reveals that the rate of attacks by settlers on Palestinians and their property in the first five months of this year has increased by 18% compared to the previous year. The residents of Burqa fear that the situation will worsen as the coalition government continues to expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank, an area of great significance to Palestinians and often considered the future heart of their state. These settlements are widely regarded as illegal by the international community, however, they have grown to house over 500,000 people, and the new government has given the settler community a sense of empowerment.
Over the past five months, the coalition has authorized the legalization of nine settlement outposts, previously considered illegal, and has advanced plans for 7,000 new settlement housing units. Furthermore, the government has allocated significant funds for settlements and road infrastructure in the West Bank and entrusted Bezalel Smotrich, an ultra-nationalist settler calling for annexation, with significant powers over civilian life in the territory. In a highly controversial move, settlers have been permitted to build a religious school at Homesh, an illegal outpost overlooking Burqa where a settlement was dismantled in 2005, going against a 2004 commitment to the US to evacuate this settlement.
While settlers in Homesh are pleased with the development, residents of Burqa view it as a disaster. The local imam, Naser Hijji, explains that restrictions imposed by the military around Homesh have already made it difficult for locals to access their land, and they now fear further restrictions and challenges in reaching their fields. The situation has become a nightmare for them, and they have lost hope and trust in achieving justice. They feel as if they are living in the wilderness with no recourse to international and human rights laws or even the Israeli high court.
The greatest fear for residents, however, is the threat of further violence. This year has already seen a significant increase in bloodshed in the West Bank, with Israeli forces killing 112 Palestinians and Palestinians killing 15 Israelis in the first five months alone, according to the UN. Settlers have destroyed numerous olive trees, depriving farmers of their income, and carried out multiple attacks on property. Ghassan Daghlas, an official monitoring settler activity, explains that settlers now perceive themselves as empowered and in control of the army. Sadly, Palestinian communities are paying the price for the rightward shift of the Israeli government.
Rabbi Menachem Ben Shachar denies that settlers from Homesh have engaged in violence against Burqa. Instead, he insists that they solely study Torah, while accusing Palestinians of stone-throwing. The authorities and settlers did not respond to requests for comment. Although Netanyahu denies that settlement expansion hinders the peace process, critics argue that the government’s actions make a two-state solution even more unlikely. By disregarding what is happening in Homesh, the settlement policy is further legitimized, ultimately leading to the permanent establishment of a Jewish supremacist state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean, as highlighted by Noa Landau, deputy editor of Haaretz.
Sadly, Mesoud has lost all hope for an independent Palestine, as he believes that only the strong have states, and the settlers are the ones with power. They hold all the cards and can push forward with their plans.
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