17 dec 2023 om 05:04
While eyes are focused on the war in the Gaza Strip, violence by extremist settlers in the West Bank is increasing. Who are these colonists? Answers to these and four other questions about the situation in the West Bank.
1. Who lives in the West Bank?
To answer that question, first a quick history lesson. Before Israel became Israel, there was one area called Palestine. Several Palestinian communities lived there, including Christians, Muslims and Bedouins. Jews also lived there.
Israel was founded in 1948 after the War of Independence, which Palestinians call the ‘Nakba’ or catastrophe. 700,000 Palestinians had to flee to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. During the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel conquered those areas, followed by prolonged military occupation.
In the 1990s, the borders were partly set in the Oslo Accords, with Palestinians hoping for an independent state in Gaza and the West Bank. But these boundaries are regularly ignored, Thomas van Gool of peace organization PAX told NU.nl. He lived in the area for several years and still visits.
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2. Who are these settlers?
Anyone who is (partly) Jewish is allowed to ‘return’ to Israel according to Israeli law. These settlers come from all over the world: from the United States to Russia. “They are mainly radical nationalists, often with a religious slant,” says Peter Malcontent, historian at Utrecht University.
According to Van Gool, we also see this in moods in Israel, where settlers often vote in an extremely nationalist manner. They build many illegal settlements in Palestinian designated areas. Although the number remains about the same, they are increasing, says Malcontent. The number of settlers has increased: in 1993 there were 110,000 and now there are 465,000.
The fragmentation of the West Bank mapped out.
3. Why do settlers settle in the area and why do they use violence?
One of the reasons is that Israelis receive subsidies from the government to live in the settlements. So it is much cheaper: in this way the expansion of Israeli influence is stimulated. “We see that much more money has been pledged in recent weeks for the construction of new settlements,” says Van Gool.
In addition, ultra-Orthodox settlers believe that the land belongs to them. “Religious Jews refer to the Bible and therefore call the area Samaria and Judea. In short: the colonists believe that they have the greatest right to live there,” Malcontent explains. “So even though settlement construction is officially prohibited by the international community, Israel turns a blind eye.”
Settlers are increasingly using violence to expel Palestinians. “Think of harassing citizens, setting fire to houses and cars, poisoning agricultural land and cutting down olive trees,” Van Gool summarizes.
The Israeli authorities also welcome this. For example, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Israeli Minister of National Security, gives the settlers weapons. “Israel is actively arming the colonists and calling for hatred,” says Van Gool. At least 250 Palestinians have now died in the West Bank due to violence by settlers and the army.
Who has power where in the West Bank?
The West Bank consists of three zones: A, B and C. In zone A, large cities such as Ramallah and Bethlehem, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has power on paper. In zone B, the outer urban areas, there is shared power. Israel is responsible for security there and the PA for quality of life. In zone C, the largest part, Israel is in charge.
Yet the question is how much power the PA really has. For example, Palestinians who want to travel beyond the West Bank border need permission from Israel.
4. Why do we hear so little about this?
“Because attention has been drawn to the Gaza Strip,” says Van Gool. “That makes sense, because many more people die there every day.” But violence in the West Bank has been going on for years and has intensified since the Hamas attack on October 7. The settlers see their opportunity to carry out more attacks and drive out the Palestinians.
In addition, the war also means that there are fewer international people, observers and journalists present. As a result, less news is released about the situation.
Conditions are less visible than in Gaza. Hamas has less power in the West Bank. The army is focusing all its efforts on destroying Hamas. These also exist in the West Bank, but to a much lesser extent.
“But the violence in the area is more structural and more serious than ever,” says Malcontent. The US government is concerned because it fears that the weapons the United States is sending to Israel will be used by extremist settlers.
Israel is building a wall between Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank. Photo: Getty Images
5. Can the international community do something about the violence?
Several countries have now condemned settler violence. On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would take measures, but so far no measures have been taken. A motion has been passed in the European Union stating that violent settlers should be banned from visas. This also applies in the US and the United Kingdom.
Colonists can currently travel to the EU without a visa, although they are illegal from a Dutch perspective. At the same time, Palestinians do need a visa to travel to the EU. “That’s actually very strange,” says Van Gool.
“The Netherlands is in favor of the so-called two-state solution, in which we recognize the borders between Israeli and Palestinian areas,” Van Gool explains. “If you are consistent, settlers should be sanctioned.” According to Van Gool, the measures are “not nearly enough”. According to him, there should be individual sanctions on people such as Israeli minister Ben-Gvir.
“In order to realize the two-state solution, settlements must be cleared, because otherwise a Palestinian state would not be viable. It would be a kind of cheese in holes,” says Malcontent. “But Israel doesn’t want that.”
Netanyahu’s current government depends for its survival on two parties that support the settlers through thick and thin. And even if Israel were prepared to evict settlements, the question is: how? “We are talking about 465,000 settlers, the majority of whom are heavily armed. They cannot simply be taken away,” says Malcontent.
The IDF is increasingly present in the West Bank. Photo: Getty Images
2023-12-17 04:04:55
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