Israel: Settlers react with violence due to demolitions.

[SirNitram]

Link

Settlers attack West Bank villages following outpost demolitions
Police and Palestinians say settlers threw petrol bomb into a house, damaged several cars in West Bank.
By The Associated Press and Reuters Tags: Israel news

Israeli settlers damaged houses and cars in a Palestinian village in the West Bank on Tuesday, police and witnesses said, in an apparent show of anger over the Israeli demolition of homes in an unauthorized settler outpost.

Police say settlers are suspected of smashing windows of seven Palestinian cars and throwing a fire bomb at a Palestinian house.

Resident of the village of Hiwwara also said settlers threw petrol bombs into a house, broke the windows of another, and burned several cars in the overnight rampage before moving on to nearby Burin, where Israel Defense Forces soldiers prevented them from attacking a mosque.

"We tried to put off the fire but we could not, because it was huge. The whole front room burned down and part of the sitting room," said Rami Edmeidi, the owner of the home that came under attack.

Police said Tuesday that the incidents appear to be part of a campaign Jewish
extremists call "price tag" - violence against Palestinians following Israeli government action to curb settlements.

On Monday, Israeli forces demolished two homes at the unauthorized West Bank outpost of Havat Gilad, a hilltop settlement built without government permission, sparking fury among settlers in the area.

Eight settlers were arrested Monday during clashes with security forces conducting the demolitions. Israel Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Tuesday that a total of 37 people have been arrested in all in disturbances related to the demolitions at Havat Gilad.

In remarks to legislators from his Likud party on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted he was limiting the scope of construction as a result of international pressure.

But Likud MK Danny Danon said he and other settler supporters in the party intend to rachet up pressure on Netanyahu to boost construction in settlements.

"We are not prepared to accept any discrimination between Jews living in the cities of Judea and Samaria [the West Bank] and the rest of the Jews in Israel," Danon told Reuters.

Oh boy. Where to start. Illegal settlement is demolished as it should be. Stones and invective thrown at security. Security responds with less-lethal weaponry. Settlers go berserk from the shock that they can't build willy-nilly, and might actually get tear gased for trying to stop security. And promise to attack.. Palestinians. If one considered them just angry people about housing rights, that'd make no sense. But nothing energizes pro-settlement forces like Palestinian violence.. So it sounds alot like deliberate provocation to try and take revenge on the politicos who made the choice.

[Eframepilot]

Link

Israel vows to raze all illegal outposts built on private Palestinian land

The decision, which will be submitted to High Court of Justice in response to 15 petitions demanding the outposts' demolition, will apply to at least three outposts inhabited by about 100 families.
By Chaim Levinson and Barak Ravid

The government will immediately dismantle all illegal settlement outposts built on privately-owned Palestinian land, with the sole exception of the house owned by slain Israel Defense Forces officer Eliraz Peretz, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided on Monday in consultation with the defense minister and the attorney general.

The decision, which will be submitted to the High Court of Justice in response to 15 petitions demanding the outposts' demolition, will apply to at least three outposts inhabited by about 100 families.
At the same time, however, the government will begin legalizing illegal outposts built on state land. Regarding Peretz's house, the government will ask the court for more time to find a solution.

The decision was approved unanimously by the "septet" forum of top cabinet ministers.

Later on Monday, Netanyahu told a meeting of his Likud faction that Israel could not ignore growing international pressure over construction in the West Bank, but that the government would preserve ongoing settlement activity to the best of its ability.

"We are currently making efforts to maintain existing construction, but we must understand that we are [faced with] a very difficult international reality," he told the meeting.

He was speaking one week after the United States vetoed a United Nations resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank and four days before officials from the Quartet of Middle East peacemakers were to meet Israeli and Palestinian representatives in an effort to jump-start the peace process.

"The American veto in the Security Council took great effort to achieve," Netanyahu said. "We could ignore it all and say 'no problem,' but as the prime minister responsible for this state, I have the ultimate responsibility."

As such, he hinted that Israel should refrain from pushing new construction plans.

"I am the prime minister, and I am responsible for this state," said Netanyahu. "We could surely hide our heads in the sand, but that's not how I do things."

Nevertheless, Netanyahu said, the government would strive to ensure that current construction could continue, as long as it is legal. "There is construction in the West Bank," he said. "It's true that in some places there are no tenders and that is being checked, but we are currently making efforts to maintain existing construction."

The septet is to meet again on Tuesday to decide whether to send Netanyahu's envoy for the peace process, Isaac Molho, to the Quartet conference.

Netanyahu has voiced reservations about doing so, fearing that by agreeing to send Molho, he would open the door to international pressure regarding the terms of new peace talks. Specifically, the premier is afraid of being forced to agree to discuss a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders.

Officials in the Prime Minister's Office indicated that Netanyahu had been in contact with the U.S. administration in an attempt to discover the goals of the Brussels session before making his decision.

Holy fuck. Well, I still have almost zero hope for the two-state solution, but this is a step in the right direction... a step from a hundred miles away, that will probably not be followed by any further steps.

[Skgoa]

Oh boy. Where to start. Illegal settlement is demolished as it should be. Stones and invective thrown at security. Security responds with less-lethal weaponry. Settlers go berserk from the shock that they can't build willy-nilly, and might actually get tear gased for trying to stop security. And promise to attack.. Palestinians. If one considered them just angry people about housing rights, that'd make no sense. But nothing energizes pro-settlement forces like Palestinian violence.. So it sounds alot like deliberate provocation to try and take revenge on the politicos who made the choice.

Well, lets not forget that these "settlers" consider all of Palestine their land and are used to the Palestinians being driven out of their homes by threat of (and in the first decades actual) genocide. In this mindset, its not surprising to see the destruction of their homes by their own government for the sake of the Palestinians resulting in extreme reactions.
Having said that, once more I get the feeling this conflict could have been settled (no pun intended ) long ago, if it wasn't for the stupidity of those involved.

[bobalot]

Israel vows to raze all illegal outposts built on private Palestinian land

Since when were there legal and illegal settlements? They are ALL fucking illegal.

The worse thing is, Israeli apologists point to actions like this as showing Israel is "serious" about peace.

"We will take all your prime land and resources, but we will draw the line at taking what's left! That's PRINCIPLES!"

[Ritterin Sophia]

I find myself torn. On one hand it is a step in the right direction, on the other hand it's a bit like applauding a domestic abuser for only engaging in psychological torment instead of both that and physical abuse.

[SirNitram]

Oh boy. Where to start. Illegal settlement is demolished as it should be. Stones and invective thrown at security. Security responds with less-lethal weaponry. Settlers go berserk from the shock that they can't build willy-nilly, and might actually get tear gased for trying to stop security. And promise to attack.. Palestinians. If one considered them just angry people about housing rights, that'd make no sense. But nothing energizes pro-settlement forces like Palestinian violence.. So it sounds alot like deliberate provocation to try and take revenge on the politicos who made the choice.

Well, lets not forget that these "settlers" consider all of Palestine their land and are used to the Palestinians being driven out of their homes by threat of (and in the first decades actual) genocide. In this mindset, its not surprising to see the destruction of their homes by their own government for the sake of the Palestinians resulting in extreme reactions.
Having said that, once more I get the feeling this conflict could have been settled (no pun intended ) long ago, if it wasn't for the stupidity of those involved.

In short, they got treated like the Palestinians, and went fucking berserk. I've even heard of signs saying 'You Don't Shoot Jews'. Yea, it's A-OK if they're non-Jewish...

[JME2]

I find myself torn. On one hand it is a step in the right direction, on the other hand it's a bit like applauding a domestic abuser for only engaging in psychological torment instead of both that and physical abuse.

Considering my Palestinian sympathies, I agree.

[eyl]

consider all of Palestine their land and are used to the Palestinians being driven out of their homes by threat of (and in the first decades actual) genocide.

Genocide? Do you care to expand on that?

[bobalot]

consider all of Palestine their land and are used to the Palestinians being driven out of their homes by threat of (and in the first decades actual) genocide.

Genocide? Do you care to expand on that?

Genocide? Ethnic cleansing is a far more accurate description.

[NomAnor15]

consider all of Palestine their land and are used to the Palestinians being driven out of their homes by threat of (and in the first decades actual) genocide.

Genocide:the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group (Merriam-Webster)

Please support your claim that Israel is systematically murdering all "Palestinians."

[Thanas]

Alright, that is enough. We do not need three requests of evidence when one suffices.

[Skgoa]

OK, genocide was the wrong word. Sorry. Is there a good word for "murdering people so that the population of a country leaves, so that you can move into their homes"?

[Todeswind]

OK, genocide was the wrong word. Sorry. Is there a good word for "murdering people so that the population of a country leaves, so that you can move into their homes"?

Manifest Destiny.

[Alyrium Denryle]

OK, genocide was the wrong word. Sorry. Is there a good word for "murdering people so that the population of a country leaves, so that you can move into their homes"?

It would fall under the category of "forced relocation" or perhaps "ethnic cleansing"

[Psychic_Sandwich]

Since when were there legal and illegal settlements? They are ALL fucking illegal.

The worse thing is, Israeli apologists point to actions like this as showing Israel is "serious" about peace.

"We will take all your prime land and resources, but we will draw the line at taking what's left! That's PRINCIPLES!"

In fairness, some of them are at least partly built on land legitimately purchased from Palestinian owners. The issue with those, IMO, is less one of existence (they did pay for the land, after all, so it is actually their property) and more one of political control; they effectively have extraterritoriality, when they should be subject to Palestinian law in the same way I would be if I bought land in the West Bank and built a house on it.

On the other hand, a not-inconsiderable portion of settlements deemed 'legal' by Israel are actually built on illegally seized private Palestinian land, which was never paid for. The Civil Administration and the IDF have both confirmed this in internal documents, and gone so far as to call it theft. Which is is. I'd be interested to know if Israel plans to demolish those as well, although I suspect the answer is no.

[Thanas]

A sale in which you are forced to sell when the alternative is "We'll move in and take the land anyway" or "you starve" is not much of a sale. It is akin to occupiers buying estates far below their real value.

[eyl]

A sale in which you are forced to sell when the alternative is "We'll move in and take the land anyway" or "you starve" is not much of a sale. It is akin to occupiers buying estates far below their real value.

It seems somewhat a stretch (unless you have evidence to that effect) that all or most of such deals were made under the conditions you describe.

That's not taking into account those settlements built on land which belonged to Jews prior to 1948 (e.g. the Gush Etzion settlements, or, unfortunately*, Hebron, to a degree)

*As the Hebron settlers are among the biggest shitbags in the settlement movement.

[bobalot]

What is the point of this worthless nitpicking? The vast majority of these settlements are illegal. The Israeli's are worthless colonial assholes for building them.

The only feint hope is that sooner or later these settlements becomes indefensible even to the Americans, and we can start with South African style sanctions.

[Thanas]

Topic reopened. Let's stick to the topic at hand.