[News] Transformations in the West Bank: Forced displacement and the creation of 'settler states'

[Anti-Imperialist News]

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<https://english.almayadeen.net/articles/blog/transformations-in-the-west-bank--forced-displacement-and-th>
Transformations in the West Bank: Forced displacement and the creation of
'settler states'
Mohammad Hassan Saad
September 10, 2024
------------------------------

The situation in the West Bank symbolizes a comprehensive and deliberate
Israeli strategy aimed at transforming the demographic and geographic
reality through occupation and brute force.
[image: b5d16303-a8b8-4adf-9690-491f4fdd79ef.jpg]

   - Settlement expansion and forced displacement activities in the West
   Bank entail deliberate and systematic demographic change (Illustrated by
   Mahdi Rtail; Al Mayadeen English)

The West Bank is experiencing a genuine war waged by the Israeli occupation
army, which is the broadest since Operation "Defensive Shield" in 2002
under the title "Summer Camps". It has focused its attacks on cities like
Tubas, Tulkarm, and Jenin, as well as camps such as Nur Shams, Jenin, and
Fara'a, aiming to eliminate any Palestinian capacity to resist the
occupation and settlement that is gradually eroding the West Bank inch by
inch to end all Palestinian presence there.

The situation in the West Bank symbolizes a comprehensive and deliberate
Israeli strategy aimed at transforming the demographic and geographic
reality through occupation and brute force. This strategy, developed and
implemented precisely over several years, aims to displace Palestinian
populations while strengthening Israeli control through the creation of
what can be termed "settlement mini-states," establishing a new reality in
the West Bank that is irreversible.

Since October 7, 2023, the West Bank has witnessed a notable escalation in
arrest, raid, and killing campaigns carried out by the Israeli occupation
army. These campaigns, which had been ongoing but at a lower rate
previously, have resulted in the martyrdom of over 600 Palestinians, the
injury of approximately 5,800, and the arrest of more than 10,000 people
over 11 months. This reflects a significant increase in the scale of
Israeli repression and violations.
Forced displacement: Mechanism for demographic engineering

The forced displacement of Palestinians from their homes in the West Bank
is a well-documented and extensively analyzed phenomenon. In 2023, the
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
released a report that provided a detailed account of the alarming increase
in house demolitions and forced evacuations of Palestinian families.
According to the report, thousands of Palestinians, including a significant
number of children, were forcibly removed from their homes in 2022, marking
a significant escalation in displacement compared to previous years.

The aggressive nature of Israeli actions is evident in the measures
implemented by the Israeli government in occupied territories. According to
a 2021 report by Human Rights Watch, these measures can be described as
"systematic repression" and are aimed at undermining Palestinian presence
in key areas of the West Bank, particularly around the eastern part of
occupied al-Quds.

The report also highlights how these policies contribute to an apartheid
system, where Palestinians and Israeli settlers are subject to different
legal systems. This system has had severe social, economic, and cultural
impacts on Palestinians, including the disruption of community life and
access to essential services. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has
openly expressed this aggressive approach, stating, "We are truly changing
the infrastructure, legal and ownership, and changing the DNA of the
occupation system. We are doing it slowly, professionally, and as an
ongoing process... and the results prove that we have indeed achieved
remarkable things."
Settlement expansion and forced displacement: Clear violation of
international law

Settlement expansion and forced displacement activities in the West Bank
directly contradict established international legal standards. The Fourth
Geneva Convention, which concerns the protection of civilians during
wartime, explicitly prohibits the forced transfer of civilians within
occupied territories. Despite this, settlement expansion and the ongoing
displacement of Palestinians continue, as the Israeli government seeks to
increase the number of settlers in the West Bank from 800,000 to 2 million
in the coming years, creating a new reality that eliminates any hope for
Palestinians to establish their state on their national soil.

These actions have drawn significant international criticism, but no
effective measures have been taken to stop the deliberate and systematic
demographic change of the West Bank, which is part of the Israeli
occupation government's agenda. The introduction of the Israeli
government’s guidelines states: "The Jewish people have an exclusive and
indisputable right throughout the Land of Israel. The government will work
to promote and develop settlement throughout the Land of Israel—Galilee,
Negev, Golan, and Judea and Samaria."

Thus, the coalition agreements signed when forming the Israeli government
on December 29, 2022, essentially serve as a detailed action plan for
further usurping the West Bank. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich
practically expressed this approach by saying: "We have established a
separate civilian system. There is a ministry within the Ministry of
Defense. This ministry has a special minister (the special minister is
Smotrich himself). There is a settlement administration similar to a
government ministry. The head of the Settlement Administration is
equivalent to a director-general of a government ministry... There is a
deputy head of the Civil Administration who is a civilian, an employee of
the Ministry of Defense, not subject to the head of the Civil
Administration, nor to the Central Command of the army, but to the
Settlement Administration. All powers of the head of the Civil
Administration have been delegated to him."

In turn, Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called on Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu to include the West Bank as a target of the war.
Ben-Gvir also requested that Netanyahu present this demand to the security
cabinet at its next meeting and define immediate and practical measures for
its implementation.

In this context, it is useful to recall the advisory opinion issued by the
International Court of Justice on July 9, 2004, regarding the legality of
the separation wall, where it ruled that the construction of the wall and
associated settlement activities violate international law. The
International Court of Justice's opinion underscores the illegitimacy of
these actions under the Fourth Geneva Convention and customary
international law.

Furthermore, UN Security Council Resolution 2334, adopted in December 2016,
affirmed the illegality of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and called
for an immediate halt to settlement expansion. The resolution described
these activities as a "flagrant violation" of international law and a major
obstacle to achieving a "two-state solution". However, successive Israeli
occupation governments, including the current one, have ignored
international legitimacy and its resolutions, continuing their policies
that undermine the prospects of a viable and geographically connected
Palestinian state.
Emergence of 'settlement mini-states'

The concept of "settlement mini-states" in the West Bank is increasingly
evident through ongoing policies and practices. Recent Israeli government
actions, political speeches, and policy proposals have included plans to
Judaize the entire West Bank by usurping large parts of it, particularly
areas with existing settlements. Yehuda Eliyahu, a close aide to Minister
Smotrich and a partner in founding the settlement organization Regavim
(which works to seize land and displace Palestinians in the West Bank), has
been appointed as the head of the Settlement Administration.

These plans reflect a broad agenda to enhance control over the region and
integrate it into a wider framework of settlement expansion. Reports have
identified 114 new settlement outposts added to the thousands that have
been built on land that is supposedly under Palestinian Authority
jurisdiction according to the Oslo Agreement and subsequent agreements,
which have become ineffective and legally meaningless. Approximately 20,000
new settlement housing units have been approved, and more than 25,000
dunams of Palestinian land have been usurped by Israeli court decisions
between the Maale Adumim and Kedar settlements in the West Bank.

The construction of settlements will divide the West Bank into two separate
parts, and various human rights organizations have documented settlement
expansion, often occurring on privately owned Palestinian land,
highlighting numerous cases where Palestinian landowners have been
dispossessed through Israeli legal and military means, facilitating the
expansion of Israeli settlements. This process, often referred to as
"creeping annexation", effectively undermines the regional connectivity
necessary for a viable Palestinian state and exacerbates the fragmentation
of Palestinian land, reinforcing the social, political, and economic
challenges faced by Palestinians due to Israeli expansionist settlement
policies.

Reports have noted a significant increase in the activity of settler gangs
in the West Bank, known as "Hilltop Youth". What were once small groups of
young people have now become an organized and influential settlement
movement. These gangs continue to seize new lands, build settlements and
farms, and designate areas for security and grazing.

In this context, Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is actively
inciting the displacement of Palestinians and accelerating settlement
activities while calling for the killing of Palestinian detainees. Under
the slogan "Israel Arms Itself," Ben-Gvir announced the creation of reserve
units comprising thousands of settlers in regional councils and cities, who
have been armed under the pretext of "protection and defense," noting that
"the number of units reached 600," and issued permits for tens of thousands
of settlers to carry weapons, opening hundreds of new reserve training
courses across the country to teach Israelis how to handle and use firearms.

Additionally, it is noteworthy to mention the transformation of Kahanism,
which represents dangerous racist positions that emerged in the 1970s and
1980s, established by rabbi Meir Kahane, especially the call to harass and
pursue Arabs in "Israel" to eventually implement a transfer of Arabs. This
ideology has shifted from being a small, marginalized group to a
politically recognized party. This party, known as Otzma Yehudit, led by
Israeli Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, currently holds between 10 and 12 seats
in the Knesset. This party employs violent and terrorist methods to achieve
its goals and has succeeded in consolidating its power through control over
significant government and state institutions.
Future of the West Bank

Ongoing developments in the West Bank reveal a strategic and systematic
approach aimed at altering the demographic and geographic realities in the
region. Furthermore, what is happening indicates a reconfiguration of
Zionism in a more extremist, violent, and vengeful manner than what
Palestine experienced before and after 1948 through various phases and
events.

This new Zionism demonstrates that it will spare no violent and terrorist
means to achieve its goals, primarily the forced displacement of
Palestinians and the expansion of settlements, meaning the establishment of
"settlement mini-states" as part of a larger "state" with a single identity
- the "Jewish state" - and preventing the establishment of a fully
sovereign Palestinian state. This was reflected in a previous decision by
the Israeli Knesset rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state.
These actions, which violate international legal standards, present serious
challenges to global security, peace, and stability in the region.

With the absence of clear international condemnation of these policies
adopted by the Israeli government and the prevention of its further
advancement in implementing its extremist agenda, the situation in the West
Bank portends significant and dangerous transformations.

There is daily aggression against Palestinians that threatens their lives
and existence on their land, which is being eroded by settlement expansion,
Israeli occupation, settler violence, and apartheid laws and systems. There
is also a clear Israeli declaration reflecting the stance and opinion of
the majority of Israelis, succinctly expressed by Minister Bezalel Smotrich
in an interview for *Channel 14* in June 2024: "I have only one mission in
life... since I was a child. That’s why I founded Regavim. That’s why I
went to the Knesset and the government... My life's mission is to thwart
the establishment of a Palestinian state."
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