A lurch further to the right
The recently installed Israeli administration headed by Benjamin Netanyahu is a further blow to any prospect for peace in the Middle East. Prime minister Netanyahu set out the objectives of his government in a tweet which reads, “These are the basic lines of the national government headed by me: The Jewish people have an exclusive and unquestionable right to all the areas of the Land of Israel. The government will promote and develop settlements in all parts of the Land of Israel – in the Galilee, the Negev, the Golan, Judea and Samaria.” (Translated from Hebrew). The pretence of a temporary military occupation of land taken in the 1967 war will be abandoned with the military administration being replaced by a civil administration.
Three retired Israeli ambassadors wrote a letter to the Irish Times (09/02/23) calling on European states to recognise that there is now no possibility of a two-state solution; that Israel is openly moving to a permanent occupation of Palestinian territories; and that there must be consequences from the international community for this stance. Ireland has already recognised that settlement activity amounts to “annexation”, which is illegal under international law. The Occupied Territories Bill, which would ban trade between Ireland and illegally occupied territories, is waiting to be enacted. If and when this bill is passed into law, it will be a useful action for justice and peace. Two of the retired Israeli ambassadors, Ilan Baruch and Alon Liel, served in Southern Africa and compare the Israeli policies towards the Occupied Palestinian Territories with the former South African Apartheid regime. The third retired ambassador, Eli Barnavi, was the ambassador to France.
UN monitored violence against Palestinians
UNOCHA (the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) reports (OCHAoPt) that there was an increase in settler violence towards Palestinians communities in 2022. There was also an increase in demolitions of Palestinian homes and structures by the Israeli authorities. This included the destruction of EU aid for Palestinians including solar panels. At the very least Ireland and other EU countries should claim compensation for damage caused by Israel to EU provided aid.
A reflection on violence
Jonathan Kuttab is a Palestinian lawyer and the current director of Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA). He has written a thoughtful article on ‘Armed Struggle and Nonviolence’ in the Palestinian/Israel context. Jonathan makes the case for creative non-violence in a principled confrontation with the oppressors. I commend this article for your attention. Jonathan was a co-founder of the Palestinian human rights organisation Al Haq, which despite being banned by the Israeli authorities continues to monitor and document human rights abuses in Palestine.
An opportunity to serve
The UK/Irish branch of EAPPI (Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel) is currently recruiting volunteers for the programme of voluntary human rights work in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Ecumenical Accompaniers spend three months living among vulnerable Palestinian communities in the West Bank. The work involves protective presence, monitoring and reporting on human rights violations and supporting Palestinian and Israeli human rights agencies. The cut off age for volunteers is 70yrs. The programme is managed by the Quakers, who train and support EAs. Those of us who have served as EAs can attest that it is a worthwhile, if challenging, expression of solidarity.
Applications for this round must be made by the 9th March.
‘We will endure: living with systematic settler violence’
Anne, an Ecumenical Accompanier who is serving in the South Hebron hills to the south of Bethlehem, gives an up-to-date eyewitness account of the daily harassment experienced by pastoral communities at the hands of Israeli settlers. The settlers try to make life impossible for the Palestinian communities and force them to abandon their land. They are assisted in this process by the Israeli authorities who have approved the forced eviction of one thousand Palestinians from their homes in the Masafer Yatta region. The Israelis say they need the land for military training (Firing zone 918). It is part of the continuing process of ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their ancestral lands. The report written by Anne gives an indication of the sort of work that EAs do as part of the EAPPI programme.
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