Israeli settlers use Iran war as cover to commit atrocities

Johannesburg protesters came out in large numbers to support the plight of Palestinians last year. Archive photo: Ihsaan Haffejee

Since October I’ve been on a WhatsApp group that reports attacks on Palestinian communities committed by Israeli settlers and soldiers in the West Bank. Until 28 February, these reports had been harrowing and frequent. But since the day the US and Israel went to war with Iran, there has been a deluge of messages.

Here’s a tiny sample from only the first three days of the war:

28 February: “Israeli settlers attacked a shepherd in an attempt to steal his goats. During the attack the settlers shot live fire, injuring Fadel Makhanra in his arm. Several others were beaten with clubs. The settler attack took place under the cover of Israeli forces, who then [arrested] five Palestinians.”

1 March: “[Y]esterday, the Israel military imposed severe restrictions on Palestinian movement across the West Bank. Many metal gates at the entrances to cities, towns and villages have been locked, while checkpoints continue to limit travel on the few open roads. This morning, soldiers distributed leaflets to Palestinians in several locations, officially forbidding movement between the different districts of the West Bank.”

1 March: “Mohammed al-Masalmah, who was shot yesterday, died of his wounds today. According to witnesses he was shot while leaving the mosque after prayer, and was then beaten by the Israeli soldiers responsible for the shooting.”

1 March: “Settlers uprooted dozens of olive trees near the settlement of Yitzhar, south of the village.”

1 March: “Settlers raided a sheepfold [between Ramoun and Al-Taybeh] … stealing sheep from it.”

1 March: “Israeli forces installed a permanent metal gate on the road between the villages of Silwad and Deir Jrir. The gate allows Israel to cut off the villages of Silwad, Mazra’a al-Sharqiya, Khirbet Abu Falah, al-Mughayyer and Turmusayya from the villages of Deir Jrir, al-Taybeh and Ramoun, as well as from the Alon Road, while allowing Israeli settlers from a nearby outpost undisturbed access to it.”

2 March: “During a raid on the village, Israeli settlers shot dead Mohammed and Fahim Mu’amer, 52 and 48 years of age. At least one other resident sustained a severe head injury from live ammunition. According to witnesses, at least eight villagers have been injured by live fire so far. Several cars were torched and homes were shot at and raided. The pogrom began this morning when settlers bulldozed Qaryout’s olive groves, before raiding the village and opening fire. Soldiers who arrived at the scene fired teargas at residents as they attempted to defend themselves and repel the settler incursion. Witnesses report over 20 arrests, including two of injured people, and the imposition of a curfew on parts of the village. Due to road closures imposed by Israeli forces, ambulances were unable to reach the village and evacuate the injured for over an hour.”

It goes on and on, stories of murder and ethnic cleansing. Amidst the other horrors taking place in the middle-east, only a fraction of these incidents find their way into the international media.

I cannot personally verify these incidents being broadcast by the Sumud Network, but I know and trust Jonathan Pollak, an Israeli who has been campaigning against the oppression of Palestinians for much of his adult life. He is one of the WhatsApp group’s administrators.

Pollak says: “Israeli attacks on Palestinians have peaked in both frequency and intensity over the past several weeks, continuing an ongoing trend of escalation. The attacks are carried out by armed settlers, acting as a privatised instrument of violence, as well as by Israel’s official armed forces. The violence by each group compounds that of the other, with the strategic goal of forcibly displacing as many Palestinians as possible and carrying out ethnic cleansing in the West Bank.”

The West Bank is of utmost importance to extremists who believe in a greater Israel for Jewish people. It contains numerous biblical sites and the vital Jordan river flows through it. Since 1967, when Israel occupied the West Bank, hundreds of thousands of Israelis, many attracted by tax incentives and affordable housing, have settled on the West Bank in violation of international law.

Expansion into the West Bank is supported by Zionist movements across the world, including here. I was a member of one such group when I was a teenager. Palestinians, by far the majority, have been pushed into ever smaller enclaves.

You may ask: why is this relevant to readers of a South African news publisher? There is much debate about whether Israel is an apartheid state. But in the West Bank there is unequivocally apartheid: Israeli Jews and Palestinians use separate roads and water supplies. Israelis are subject to civil law and their rights are protected; Palestinians are subject to martial law and have few rights. A huge “separation barrier” cuts Palestinians off from much of the territory. There is an official policy of separation.

This is why many Palestinian activists look to South Africa – the original home of apartheid, and where it was eventually overthrown – for solidarity. The complaint of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the large protests against the genocide in Gaza have been deeply appreciated by them.

Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu used the threat of Iran getting nuclear weapons to justify initiating the war. The settler movement is using the cover of war to gleefully realise its vision of more living space at the expense of Palestinians.

South African civil society mobilised against the war on Gaza and spurred the government into action at the ICJ. Pressure needs to be put on both our government and others to take further action against Israel at the ICJ or International Criminal Court.

Geffen is GroundUp’s director.

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