Israel and Hamas have declared a ceasefire, but that’s not the end of the dispute between Israel and the Palestinians – not by a longshot. These illustrations show how, even without “war,” Israel’s military controls every aspect of Palestinians’ lives – through occupation and settler colonialism.
Masafer Yatta lies in a remote area of the West Bank, where Israeli soldiers are routinely, ruthlessly demolishing Palestinian homes – and preventing activists from filming their illegal actions. Thousands of demolition orders have been served here, but residents refuse to leave their ancestral lands.
Activist Sami Huraini, 23, is one of the coordinators of a West Bank youth group engaged in weekly demonstrations. His family history of nonviolent protest has yielded some unlikely victories.
In order to intimidate Palestinians into leaving their own land, Israel declares various areas of the West Bank “military firing zones.” It’s one of many strategies for ethnic cleansing and “Judaization.”
Israel has worked behind the scenes for years to erase Palestinians from their own Population Registry, creating an artificial Jewish majority in “Judea and Samaria” (the West Bank), and robbing Palestinians of basic human rights.
Palestinian rights groups and local governments have challenged an Israeli law that seeks to the annex of parts of the West Bank. The Israeli government responded to the petition, stating that “the Knesset [is permitted] to legislate laws everywhere in the world” and that it is authorized “to violate the sovereignty of foreign countries via legislation that would be applied to events occurring in their territories.”
Khan al Ahmar is just the latest example of dispossession & demolition by Israel. Racist laws enable “legal” expulsion of Palestinians from any land the Zionist project needs.
Nearly one tenth of the residents of Palestinian village Abu al Nuwar just became homeless thanks to an illegal Israeli policy of home demolition.
Israel is methodically clearing the Jordan Valley of Palestinians, most recently by illegally expelling Palestinian farmers with the intent of destroying their crops.
Acting Humanitarian Coordinator for the oPt, Roberto Valent, has strong words on the Israeli authorities’ destruction of donor-funded classrooms in the Palestinian community of Abu Nuwar.