Illegal Israeli settlers praised by military general
Illegal Israeli settler outposts in Palestinian territory have been praised by an Israeli military general as security assets Middle East Eye reports on July 17th.
At a conference on July 15th, Major-General Avi Bluth said the settler outposts “align well with the security concept. It does not contradict it”. He added that the outposts even integrate with the security “provided that this is also reflected in operational conduct, as well as ethical conduct, and in accordance with the law”.
On the international stage, the Israeli government maintains a narrative of disapproval of violent settlers. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the attackers as a “small minority” and they aren’t representative of the whole Israeli settler community.
According to international law and Israeli law, any Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank and any occupied Palestinian territory is illegal.
An independent Israeli analyst Ori Goldberg said the outposts are “violent” and “radical” and “they serve the IDF [Israeli army] agendas in that they control the tactical territory that the IDF can’t”.
The outposts facilitate Israeli settlers’ ability to take Palestinian land as livestock are grazed across large areas of land. This leads to the intimidation and attacks of nearby Palestinian villages. Violence has been traced back to 120 “farming outposts” a report by Peace Now and Kerem Navot, Israeli advocacy groups reveals. Published on July 7th, the report claims that since October 2023. 118 Palestinian communities have been displaced by the violence from Israeli settlers. This displacement has been described by the international charity Amnesty International to be an ethnic cleansing campaign driven by the state. The independent investigation conducted by the charity showed that the settler farms are used to expand Israeli control over Palestinian territory.
The Israeli government led by Netanyahu have given the groups farming equipment and livestock subsides alongside their efforts to legalise the settlers.
Middle East Eye, Maghrebi.org
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