Palestine 2021

It has been yet another bloody and tragic year for Palestinians. The Israeli government, military and Israeli extremists have been responsible for the massive abuse of Palestinians and their rights, including a significant loss of civilian life. Sadly, it does not look like 2022 will be any better.

Gaza

After Israeli forces stormed al-Aqsa mosque (located in Jerusalem) over three consecutive days towards the end of Ramadan, causing injury to hundreds of Palestinians, on 11th May more than 100 rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel. In response, the Israeli military undertook a two week aerial-bombing and shelling campaign which killed 260 Palestinians, including 129 civilians, of whom 66 were children. The rockets from Gaza during this time killed 10 Israeli civilians, including a child, as well as dozens of Palestinians in Gaza due to misfiring. The Israeli attack was also responsible for widespread destruction throughout Gaza. Hospitals, schools, houses, shops, roads, a refugee camp and an international media office were targeted.

For its actions Israel was criticized by several human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.^[1] ^[2] The international community also expressed its concern at the increase in hostilities with Israel receiving criticism from some quarters, including from the Arab League and to a lesser extent the European Union.^[3] ^[4] However, Israel has rebuffed all claims that it acted inappropriately, not taking responsibility for any civilian deaths. The Israeli government puts the responsibility for the loss of civilian life on the ruling authority of Gaza, Hamas, by claiming it uses civilians as human shields. The claim goes that because Hamas (allegedly) operates in civilian areas, Israel is excused for the civilian deaths.

However, this is all this with no evidence put forward by Israel. Indeed, the only times official Israeli channels have presented evidence of Hamas firing rockets from civilian areas have been fake. A day into Israel’s attack on Gaza, Ofir Gendelman, a spokesman for the then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, tweeted, “Another video showing how Hamas is firing rockets at Israel from populated areas in the Gaza Strip.“ However, soon after, the footage was shown to have come from Syria in an incident dating back to June 2018.^[5]

Three days later, the official Twitter account of the Israeli military tweeted a video clip purporting to show Hamas’ firing of rockets from civilian areas of Gaza. However, the only part of the two minute clip that clearly shows a rocket launcher embedded in what looks like a Gazan neighborhood was actually taken from a military training video recorded inside Israel.^[6]

During the conflict, journalist Abby Martin published an exposé refuting Israel’s human shield claim. Martin states that even if Hamas were using human shields, Israel would not be excused. This is because the Israeli definition of a human shield goes beyond civilians in the vicinity of Hamas missile sites to include anyone in the vicinity of Hamas offices and even Hamas individuals.

“Hamas is the government of Gaza therefore any civilian infrastructure is considered Hamas infrastructure, everything from transportation to healthcare, so anyone in the vicinity of those things or people can be killed with impunity.”^[7]

Indeed, on 18th May, while touring a navy base in the southern port city of Ashdod, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz claimed that, “No person, area or neighborhood in Gaza is immune. We have thousands more attack targets that are only further accumulating.”^[8] Gantz was true to his word and the Israeli assault on Gaza continued until 21st of May when Israel accepted a ceasefire, after originally rejecting Hamas’ offer of a ceasefire on 13th May.

According to the Geneva Conventions, the international treaties that seek to regulate the conduct of armed conflict, indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian ‘objects’ are forbidden.^[9] Israel does not have the right to bomb refugee camps, hospitals, office blocks, shops and homes as it did in Gaza during May of this year.

*****

The conclusion of Martin’s argument (which includes more points than mentioned here) is that if Israel breaks international law then why does the international community not act in some way?

The problem is that while countries will express their concern and somewhat criticize Israel when it attacks Gaza (as it has done periodically since 2006), they will not take steps amounting to anything meaningful. For example, while the United Kingdom expresses its “grave concern” at Israel’s actions in Gaza, it also opposes any steps to bring Israel before the International Criminal Court.^[10] ^[11] Even the Republic of Ireland, a vocal critic of Israel, which during the Gaza offensive took steps to formally condemn Israel’s settlement activity in the West Bank as a “de facto annexation” of Palestinian land, stopped short of expelling Israel’s Ambassador from the country.^[12] Then there is the German example, willing to criticize Israel under the auspices of the European Union at the time, by October it was business as usual when outgoing chancellor Angela Merkel took part in a farewell tour of Israel to reaffirm Germany’s support of Israel.

Thus, Israel still has enough allies (most importantly the unwavering support of the United States of America) and therefore legitimacy to continue to act with impunity. The actions of Gaza’s Hamas were of course condemned by the international community and the group, seen as an international pariah, remains under international and Israeli sanctions.

The West Bank

Prior to the events in Gaza, tensions had been on the rise in the West Bank since mid-April with most incidents occurring in East Jerusalem.

Before going on to describe the events, it is important to be aware that East Jerusalem is considered internationally to be capital of a future Palestine state, comprising the West Bank and Gaza. However, Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and since then, contra to international law, has overseen the settlement of its citizens into the West Bank.^[13]

Back to this year: In response to restrictions placed on Palestinians at the beginning of Ramadan on 12th April, Israeli occupation forces clashed with Palestinian protesters in Jerusalem’s Old City. Over the next few days a handful of isolated assaults also occurred between Israeli settlers and Palestinians in East Jerusalem. Then things escalated, and like in Gaza most of the force came from the Israeli side with Palestinian civilians bearing the brunt.

By 21st April, Israeli far-right extremists began marching through the streets of East Jerusalem chanting “death to Arabs” and “the people demand Arabs on fire” among other racist slogans. As well as clashing with Israeli forces, the extremists attacked Palestinians (injuring more than 100) and their homes.^[14] This marked the beginning of a more orchestrated form of violence by Israeli settlers.

Over the following nights mobs of Israeli settlers ambushed and threw stones at Palestinian cars driving through Jerusalem’s Old City. On other occasions in April and May, similar lynch-mobs managed to stop several cars, extract the drivers and beat them, on one occasion mistakenly beating a Jewish man.^[15] ^[16] ^[17]

While the Israeli extremists at first clashed with Israeli police, incidents of Israeli forces standing by while Israeli settlers march and incite hatred, attack and throw rocks at Palestinians, uproot olive trees and damage their homes have been widely reported throughout the West Bank with video evidence.^[18] There have also been reports of Israeli forces going one step further and actually aiding settlers in their actions against Palestinians.^[19] Because of this, Israeli human rights organization, B’Tselem, has claimed that “Settler violence is state violence.”^[20]

On the other hand Palestinians involved in any violence (or not) against Israeli settlers, or Israeli forces, are met with full force, either arrested, arrested and beaten, or shot and killed, one recent case amounting to an extrajudicial killing when a Palestinian man suspected of attempting to stab an Israeli settler was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers after already having been incapacitated.^[21]

Israeli occupation forces also routinely fire live rounds on Palestinian protesters, some engaging in rock throwing, most not. To be sure, that’s heavily armed and armoured soldiers shooting live rounds at people throwing rocks. On 19th December, Israeli defence minister, Benny Gantz, “loosened open fire regulations for Israeli forces”, now allowing them to “open fire on stone throwers even after the act, as they are running away.”^[22] Note, this law only applies to Palestinian stone throwers and not Israeli settlers engaging in such activity against Palestinians. There have also been reported incidents, verified by video evidence, of Israeli occupation police attacking groups of unarmed, peaceful Palestinian protesters without provocation.^[23]

This year Israeli forces have been responsible for the deaths of dozens of Palestinian protesters who have been legitimately standing up for their rights and protecting their property and communites. As a result thousands of Palestinians have also been injured, many with ‘life-changing’ injuries. One of the most distressing aspects to the heavy handed approach of Israel has been the amount of children killed in the West Bank this year. Since April, 15 Palestinian children have been killed by Israeli forces.^[24]

Thus has been the dynamic since April 2021, a burgeoning extremist and more overt anti-Palestinian sentiment coming from Israeli settlers and an increase in violence to back this up. And it isn’t only Israeli settlers engaging in violence. The extremist sentiment is also apparent from Israelis that may not actually engage in violence. In a series of vox pops and social media posts Israelis have openly called for violence against Palestinians, the dispossesion of their property and their expulsion from the West Bank and even called for the genocide of the Palestinian people.^[25]

On the Palestinian side, while a handful of attacks have been carried out by ‘lone-wolf’ militants in the West Bank, resulting in the deaths of two Israeli settlers, Palestinians have by far been legitimately and peacefully protesting for their rights, defending their lives and protecting their communities in the face of Israeli aggression only to be met with brute and disproportionate force.

However, it isn’t only Israeli forces that have been abusing Palestinians in the West Bank, rather than protecting their own people in the face of increased attacks, Palestinian security forces have also targeted Palestinian protesters in what Amnesty International has labelled a “brutal campaign of repression”, which included the death of prominent Palestinan Authority critic and activist Nizar Banat while in custody on 24th June.^[26]

Sheikh Jarrah

Central to the events in the West Bank has been the case of Sheikh Jarrah – a neighbourhood in Palestinian East Jerusalem from which the residents may be evicted, and their property given to Israeli settlers, following a decision by Israel’s Supreme Court: A court which should not have jurisdiction over Palestinian land, anyway.

In the months leading up to the Court’s decision tensions began to rise when on 6th May Israeli settlers entered the neighbourhood to provoke and attack the residents during Iftar (the breaking of the Ramadan fast).^[27] Subsequently, Israeli settlers and occupation forces continued to harass and attack the residents of Sheikh Jarrah who were beaten and sprayed with raw sewage while peacefully protesting, had their homes invaded and property damaged by Israeli settlers and occupation forces, who also on occasion fired stun grenades into several Sheikh Jarrah properties. Disturbingly, on 25th May a video emerged of a 16 year old Palestinian girl being shot in the back with a sponge-tipped bullet as she was obeying an order to go back into her home.^[28]

The marauding settlers were even joined by a far-right Israeli lawmaker and Member of Parliament (MP) party who set up office in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. Although the office was only there for a day, the MP and his supporters were accused of being responsible for the flare up in tensions by Israel’s own police chief.^[29] Talk about prejudicing an already illegitimate court case!

On 2nd August 2021, following a 30-year long dispute over several of the properties, home to four families in Sheikh Jarrah, the Israeli court offered the Palestinian residents a deal, which would see them become ‘protected tenants’ for 15 years. This in fact amounted to a mere deferral of the evictions.

The families of Sheikh Jarrah rejected the proposal and on 15th August the Court temporarily delayed the evictions until 2nd November to see if a compromise could be reached. In the meantime attacks against the Sheikh Jarrah residents did not cease. Until today, in fact Israeli settlers (backed by Israeli forces) are continuing their harassment of the Sheikh Jarrah residents.

On 2nd November, when the Court adjourned, the families officially rejected the Court’s proposal and released a statement appealing to the international community to “respond to grave international law violations with real diplomatic and political repercussions”, and to end “the culture of inaction and impunity”.^[30]

The International ‘Community’

The case of Sheikh Jarrah is not unique. According to the United Nations, some 218 Palestinian households across East Jerusalem have eviction cases against them, most of which were initiated by settler organizations. Some 970 people, including 424 children, are at risk of displacement.^[31]

And in all of these cases, international law is on the side of the Palestinians. As an occupying power Israel cannot confiscate private property or evict Palestinians from their homes, nor can Israel impose its own laws in occupied territory, nor can an occupying power transfer parts of its civilian population (settlers) into the territory that it occupies. This goes for the whole of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.^[32]

This was reaffirmed by the UN Secretary General’s spokesperson who said his office was watching the court case closely, stating that, “What has always been our standpoint is that all settlement activities, including evictions, demolitions, are illegal under international law.”^[33] By and large, the international community also recognises these facts, with the EU and British government, among others, releasing statements in 2021 calling for Israel to abide by international law and cease all settlement activity in the West Bank.^[34]

However, during the whole of 2021 Israel has been evicting Palestinians throughout the West Bank, destroying their homes and leaving hundreds homeless.^[35] This is the culture of impunity that the residents of Sheikh Jarrah mentioned and it will not end with toothless statements from the likes of the UK which, while recognizing the flagrant violations of international law committed by Israel, only urge Israel to stop its policies related to settlement expansion.^[36]

While the unveiling of the extremist nature of Israel’s occupation is largely down to the work of Palestinian activists and NGOs on the ground, the apparent emboldening of Israeli forces and settlers can also be understood as part of a process initiated by former US President Donald Trump in January 2020.

Presented as a ‘deal of the century’ that would bring peace to the region, the Abraham Accords, which saw relations between Israel and several Arab states ‘normalized’, namely the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and, unofficially, Saudi Arabia, in fact amount to a normalization through diplomacy of Israel’s annexation of the West Bank. A fact that seems to have resonated with Israeli extremists during their demonstrations in Jerusalem this year when their violent and racist chants were punctuated with cries that, “Morocco stands with us” and “Saudi Arabia stands with us”.

Footnotes:

[1] https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/07/27/gaza-apparent-war-crimes-during-may-fighting

[2] https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/05/israelopt-pattern-of-israeli-attacks-on-residential-homes-in-gaza-must-be-investigated-as-war-crimes/

[3] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/11/arab-league-condemns-israel-airstrikes-on-gaza-as-irresponsible

[4] https://www.euronews.com/2021/05/17/eu-condemns-israeli-attacks-on-media-in-gaza-ahead-of-foreign-ministers-meeting

[5] https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-gaza-syria-idUSL1N2N01RD

[6] https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/israel-fakes-another-video-hamas-rockets-next-gaza-homes

[7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l78dOLxt6_g

[8] https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/gantz-nothing-in-gaza-immune-we-have-thousands-more-targets-to-strike/

[9] https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Article.xsp?action=openDocument&documentId=4BEBD9920AE0AEAEC12563CD0051DC9E

Regarding the Geneva Conventions, while a Hamas operative may be considered a legitimate ‘military objective’ (target), the strikes are considered to be indiscriminate for the striking of “military objectives and civilians or civilian objects without distinction.”

[10] https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-cycle-of-violence-must-end-for-israelis-and-palestinians-alike

[11] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/15/palestine-condemns-boris-johnson-opposing-icc-israel-investigation

[12] https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/oireachtas/ireland-becomes-first-eu-country-to-declare-israel-is-involved-in-de-facto-annexation-1.4576250

[13] See United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334

https://www.un.org/webcast/pdfs/SRES2334-2016.pdf

Also, Article 49 of the IV Geneva Conventions

https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/atrocity-crimes/Doc.33_GC-IV-EN.pdf

[14] https://twitter.com/bentreyf/status/1385337153308221441

[15] https://twitter.com/RamAbdu/status/1386062445328969736?s=19

[16] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/13/live-tv-shows-israeli-mob-lynch-motorist-in-tel-aviv-suburb

[17] https://twitter.com/miqdaad/status/1392567930290851841

[18] https://twitter.com/lioramihai/status/1457021073111793668