Continued Israeli Double Assault on Palestinians – Confiscation of more Land, Stomping on their Human Rights

posted on: Aug 24, 2022

By: John Mason / Arab America Contributing Writer

The IDF began its assault on Palestinian land in mid-July. It included confiscation of almost 1,500 acres in the area around Ramallah, justified by interests in protecting surrounding Jewish settlements. This is a report on that story and a shocking, opposing Israeli view that it is the Palestinians who are guilty of a land grab of Judea and Samaria. A second assault reported here is of IDF troops closing down several Palestinian human rights organizations. These groups are accused of being a front for a militant faction.

Israeli Land Grab on Occupied West Bank occurs as President Biden lands in Palestine

The Israeli Defense Force began its continued confiscation of Palestinian land in mid-July. It started its steal just as President Biden was landing in the occupied territory. That was in the midst of his first presidential trip to the Middle East. Comprising almost 1,500 acres in the area around Ramallah, the land belonged to four villages. The residents had appealed the seizure prior to the raid, without success.

This amount of property is a large portion of the owner’s olive and almond growers’ land. The Israeli government declared it needed the land as a security zone. It was intended to serve as a buffer for the IDF in protecting Israeli settlements and settlement outposts. Recall, that all settlements and outposts in the occupied West Bank are illegal under international law.

Palestinian anti-settlement activist Ghassan Daghlas informed the Middle East Monitor of the details of the confiscation. He told the Monitor, “This is the largest land grab intended to expand the settlements and outposts that surround the villages, and that the confiscation was under a military order issued on 14 April which was not disclosed until after the deadline for objections had passed.” It also serves to expand the size of an illegal settlement, Amichai.

A shocking, opposing perspective on the Israeli confiscation of Palestinian land is reported in the Jerusalem Post. Repeating an Israeli government statement, The Post characterized the process as “the Palestinian land grab of Judea and Samaria.” Furthermore, it reported, “The startling statistics show that in just the past two years, from 2019 to 2021, the Palestinians have built a whopping 5,907 illegal structures in Area C.”

As part of a disinformation campaign, the government accused the Palestinians of “wresting land rights from the State of Israel and establishing de facto Palestinian control.” Occupied territory magically became Judea and Samaria. Israel also purported, that “the Palestinian Authority, aided by funding from the European Union, is undertaking a systematic and coordinated land grab, with the aim of laying the foundations for a Palestinian terror state.” You might ask, where does this ‘fake news come from?! This kind of language reminds us of a certain policy of the previous U.S. president, who miraculously awarded Israel with lands of another country, namely Syria’s Golan Heights.

Israeli Troops Raid Palestinian Human Rights Groups

IDF troops raided and sealed off the offices of six Palestinian human rights organizations. This act was part of an initiative to accuse these groups of terrorism. The troops stole information from the groups’ offices, then welded shut the doors. BBC sources reported that Israeli authorities alleged these groups as “a front for a militant faction.”

One rights group, al-Haq, said IDF entered Ramallah to raid its office, along with those of Addameer, the Bisan Center for Research & Development, Defence for Children International-Palestine, the Union of Agricultural Workers Committees, and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees. Earlier, in October, Israel designated these as terrorist groups. They were accused of “diverting funds to an outlawed militant faction, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLFP), which has carried out deadly attacks.”

Israel alleged, “These organizations operate under the guise of performing humanitarian activities to further the goals of the PFLP terrorist organization, to strengthen the organization and to recruit operatives.” However, the government submitted no documentary evidence for the claim – it told the BBC its evidence was classified. The rights groups over the raids are an effort to silence them as a foil for international groups, who aim to prosecute Israel for likely war crimes. Nine European Union states announced that they will continue to fund the six organizations, given that Israel has not proved its claims.

In a show of support, Western diplomats visited one of the rights offices. ABC reported, “The U.S. State Department expressed concern about the raids and said it was seeking more information from senior Israeli officials.” It also said, “The raids marked a major escalation against the civil society organizations, which Israel has outlawed over claims that they have ties to a militant group, a charge they deny.”

Even America’s CIA has gotten into the mix of assessing Israel’s attack on the six rights organizations. The Guardian reported, “CIA unable to corroborate Israel’s ‘terror’ label for Palestinian rights groups.” It furthermore noted, “sources say the report shows CIA unable to find evidence to support Israeli claim but the finding does not prompt US rebuttal.” The U.S. has not openly criticized Israel for labeling the groups ‘ terrorists.’ But neither has it labeled these groups as ‘terrorists.’

Conclusion — Between Israeli land grabs and the closure of rights groups, there is a continued attempt to shut down both the economy and the voice of Palestinians. Through extra-legal means, Israel is making claims to the return of Biblical entities of Judea and Samaria to the Israeli state. This initiative avoids any mention of international law and the illegal occupation under which the government holds Palestine hostage to its imperial aim.

Sources
“Israel confiscates more Palestinian land near Ramallah,” Middle East Monitor, 7/14/2022
“The Palestinian land grab of Judea and Samaria,” The Jerusalem Post, 12/16/2021
“Palestinian rights groups’ offices raided by Israeli troops,” BBC, 7/19/2022
“Israel raids Palestinian rights groups it labeled terrorists,” ABC, 8/18/2022
“CIA unable to corroborate Israel’s ‘terror’ label for Palestinian rights groups,” The Guardian, 7/22/2022

John Mason, PhD., who focuses on Arab culture, society, and history, is the author of LEFT-HANDED IN AN ISLAMIC WORLD: An Anthropologist’s Journey into the Middle East, New Academia Publishing, 2017. He has taught at the University of Libya, Benghazi, Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, and the American University in Cairo; John served with the United Nations in Tripoli, Libya, and consulted extensively on socioeconomic and political development for USAID and the World Bank in 65 countries.

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