In West Bank, settler violence seen on the rise

[xchrom]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/07/14/uk-palestinians-israel-settlers-idUKTRE76D30220110714

(Reuters) - Scorched hillsides and charred olive groves near Nablus pinpoint the latest acts of arson by hardline Jewish settlers against Palestinians who say they are ever more the victims of such attacks in the West Bank.

"The olive tree is the only source of income for farmers," said Mohammad Zeban, a Palestinian farmer, lamenting the damage inflicted on hundreds of olive trees by a recent fire near the village of Huwara. "They want to annihilate us."

Settler-related incidents resulting in Palestinian injuries and damage to property are up by 57 percent this year, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which documents violence in the Palestinian territories.

Palestinian officials say that is a worrying sign of deepening hostility which they fear could trigger wider violence as hardline settlers increasingly appear to be a law unto themselves and frustration grows over the evaporating prospects for peace.

[Jefferson23]

1. Netanyahu: "We have brothers living eleven minutes away from here, in Ma'ale Adumim.

You want to get rid of Ariel and Gush Etzion? Go to the Knesset and form a government that will act that way. But hurting families and children in Ariel? I find that illegitimate ."



I don't agree hardline settlers appear to be a law unto themselves, Israeli policy has got their back just fine.

[cqo_000]

2. Jewish settlers are terrorising Palestinians, says Israeli general

Monday, 18 July 2011

A senior Israeli army commander has warned that unchecked "Jewish terror" against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank threatens to plunge the territory into another conflict.


In unusually outspoken comments, Major General Avi Mizrahi took aim at extremist Israeli settlers, and said the yeshiva, or religious seminary, in Yitzhar, one of the most radical Jewish strongholds in the West Bank, should be closed, calling it a source of terror against Palestinians.


...

"What's happening in the field is terrorism," General Mizrahi told Channel 2's Meet the Press, and it "needs to be dealt with." The Israel Defence Forces (IDF), he said, fears "terrorism against Palestinians is likely to ignite the territories."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/jewish-settlers-are-terrorising-palestinians-says-israeli-general-2315435.html

[holdencaufield]

3. Double standards?

Are settlers the only people committing violence in the West Bank?

[holdencaufield]

4. Are we going to pretend...

... that there is no bias in this report when it's topped by (yet another) OBVIOUSLY-staged photo?

http://uk.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20110714&t=2&i=458746495&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=2011-07-14T132719Z_01_BTRE76D11DL00_RTROPTP_0_PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL

[Violet_Crumble]

6. Why would you want to defend extremist settlers?

You've done so in two posts in this thread. There's no justification at all for their actions, and to try to minimise or divert attention away from what they do to the Palestinians isn't a good tactic for anyone to use...

[Scurrilous]

5. Settlers, Palestinians wounded during clash

Violent confrontation near West Bank outpost of Esh Kodesh leaves at least 10 injured. Palestinians say they were assaulted during olive-harvest, while settlers claim they were intentionally provoked

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4137326,00.html

<snip>

"Land dispute – ten people were injured on Friday during a violent clash between settlers from the outpost of Esh Kodesh and Palestinians and left-wing activists who were engaged in an olive-harvest near the village of Jalud.

Three settlers were lightly injured from stone hurling, and between four and six Palestinians, including a 12-year-old boy, were also wounded in the incident. Some were evacuated to a hospital in the Nablus area.

Moments after the clash erupted IDF forces arrive to the scene and used smoke grenades to disperse the sides.

During the skirmish, the surrounding olive grove was set on fire, however it was not clear whether the fire was intentionally started by one of the sides or as a result of IDF fire."

<snip>

"Palestinians from the village of Jalud claimed that they were attacked by masked settlers with metal poles after they began an olive-harvest on their lands, which are adjacent to the outpost."