Out of it An Israeli settlement in the West Bank, literally written in stone, in Hebrew:
“Desert View”.
Nearby, the Israeli army is conducting shooting training.
At the makeshift campsite, there are cut-up cars everywhere. A sleepy dog tied to one of them.
Living here seems unattractive, with no electricity, water and nailed-down walls.
Unless you are a hardcore Israeli settler, trying to reclaim what you believe is your land from the Palestinians.
And think about the compromise, this is exactly what her mersheim is (23):
– October 7 was an alarm bell. Now is war, says the ultra-Orthodox Jew.
Reported by the United Nations Which At least 820 Palestinians They were displaced as a result of settler violence in the West Bank since October 7.
US President Joe Biden demands an end to settler violence, and says it will be done Like throwing gasoline on a fire.
Settlers have illegally occupied Palestinian lands in the West Bank since 1967, according to the United Nations, among others.
Israel believes this is legal.
More than 150 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the shocking attack by Hamas on October 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Many of them were killed by Israeli settlers. The pace of violence has escalated since the start of the war.
– What is happening now is unprecedented.
This is what Dror Sadot, spokesman for the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, says.
The settlers take advantage of the fact that everyone follows Gaza, to do whatever they want in the West Bank.
Israeli governmentKari As, Norway’s former ambassador to Israel, believes that the party, which includes many nationalist and ultra-religious members, has created a storm in Israel and among the Palestinians.
– This may be one of the reasons why the war started, with settlement activity and violations against the civilian population. The atmosphere is boiling in the West Bank.
He confirms that all Israeli governments have dealt with the settlements. But not as systematically as the current government.
– Clearly, this does not legitimize the brutal terrorist acts committed by Hamas, says As.
700 thousand Israelis Living in settlements established on the occupied West Bank, in violation of international law Figures from the United Nations
Many live here for ideological or nationalistic reasons – some because it is cheaper than many other places.
After Hamas’s shocking attack on Israel on October 7, Mersimha packed her belongings and left for the tent camp.
He did it to protect the place against Palestinians, he said.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews may not serve in the basic service in Israel. Therefore, he and his friend Nefdali (23 years old) see this as their way of performing military service.
The two men are part of the extremist and often violent “Hill Youth” group.
This ultra-conservative group seizes new lands from Palestinians, often using violence.
-We sleep on trips and take care of the area. There were some terrorists (The Palestinians as they see it) Which came two days after October 7th. He says that the Israeli army arrested them.
Near them is a box of stones. What they are used for, he refuses to answer.
He also did not want to say anything about the weapons he used when the Palestinians approached his camp.
– I always knew that the goal of the Arabs was to kill the Jews, says Mersimha.
The goal now is not to build new settlements, but rather to protect existing settlements. He claims that if we have to use violence, we will.
He says that six years ago, a Palestinian family lived in the area.
They left, and he won’t go into detail about why.
In recent weeks, there have been more and more videos of Palestinians Vulnerable to violence And humiliating Israeli soldiers and settlers.
One organization that documents this, and how Israelis and settlers use violence to control Palestinian areas, is B’Tselem.
– If it were up to the State of Israel, it would do everything in its power not to return this land to the Palestinians, says its spokesman Dror Sadot.
Meanwhile, the attacks continue.
Last week, a Palestinian was killed while picking olives by Israeli settlers from Elia in the West Bank, according to reports. Al Jazeera:
During the temporary Sofa set with sun cover, there’s a great combination of praying and drinking Corona beer.
– Whoever lives in Gaza must go somewhere else. We tried, and it didn’t work. Israel knows what it must do. “They have to demolish Gaza to the ground, then enter it,” Mersimha says.
– But the Palestinians believe that this is their land?
-Accord TorahTorahThe Torah is the first and holiest body of religious texts in Judaism. It includes the Pentateuch, which tells of the period from the creation of the world to the death of Moses on Mount Nebo. Source: snl.no is not it. It’s good to be a guest, but if you bring hate, we will protect our country.
– And in the same way they want you to leave?
– This is my country, my land. I do not have Any other choice. The Arabs have 22 other countries to go to. Where was I supposed to go?
VG drives through cities In the West Bank. We repeatedly pass Israeli roadblocks and Israeli soldiers. They have their weapons ready.
The tension is sky high.
Every day there are confrontations, and Palestinians are killed.
On many roads In the occupied West Bank, only Israelis are allowed to drive, while many Palestinians are not allowed to travel there.
In a Palestinian village not far from Ramallah, the olive season begins.
– We feel terrified every time we go out to the field, says Palestinian Laith.
The fear of being attacked by Israeli settlers has become deeply rooted.
– They are terrorists. It’s hard to explain what you feel. They treat us like animals.
After October 7, they stopped going to the olive groves, and instead used their time refining the olives they had already harvested.
Elsewhere in the West Bank, A few miles away is the Israeli settlement town of Efrat, with a population of about 10,000.
On our way, we passed through several Palestinian villages. Most of them are dilapidated, the roads are dusty, and the homes have water tanks on the roof in case Israel stops running water.
Towards the Euphrates River, as soon as we crossed the Israeli checkpoint, a small green oasis opened up, with green grass, clean streets and flowers.
Someone lives here Because it’s cheap, but most people live here for ideological reasons, to show that they believe the West Bank is truly Israeli.
In the parking lot, Noa Liwi, an ultra-Orthodox, hung 10 freshly ironed white shirts in the car.
The house she lives in has plenty of room for eight children, ages 10 to 30. The younger son serves café-quality cappuccino.
Another son of hers is now participating in the war on the border with Gaza.
She says: There are good Arabs, and there are also Arabs who want to kill us.
She is still in shock after the attack on October 7.
– I am afraid. “Now I don’t want to let Arabs into my house,” she says.
She believes that if Palestinians want to become Israeli citizens, that is great. But then they have to know that this is a Jewish people and a Jewish state.
– Saturday is Saturday, a day off. This is the only Jewish state we have.
When asked if she couldn’t live in Tel Aviv instead, she replied:
– I think that this place (the Israeli settlements) is no different from Tel Aviv. This is actually the true essence of Israel.
– What do you think about the increasing cases of violence against Palestinian villages?
-Everyone is different. There are those who are at war, and there are those who want peace. But those who fight for the Jewish cause cry out for me too. Because I’m not the one screaming.
Dag Henrik Tostad, senior lecturer in Middle Eastern studies at the University of Oslo, describes the Israeli settlers as follows:
– They are Jewish Israeli citizens who have their own roads, health facilities, kindergartens, schools and trains that Palestinians cannot use. It is in fact an apartheid system.
Palestinian Fadi Jaafar (32) He salvages some children’s toys from the ruins of what was once his home.
Only a few hours have passed since armed Israeli forces stormed his house and demolished his house with an excavator in eastern J
The family of seven members was forced to flee.
The house was demolished in the Jabal Mukaber area, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967.
Israeli authorities claim that he did not have a building permit for the house.
-I was sleeping with my wife and five children. Then they came and smashed the house. Now we no longer have a home.
Jafar lifts the milk bottle from under the concrete. It’s still cold.
– Toys, olive trees, the whole house. Everything is divided. “We now have to live in a tent,” he says.
The tent is made of canvas installed on top of a wrecked car.
– The Palestinians In East Jerusalem they are effectively outlaws, says Middle East researcher Dag Henrik Tostad:
– Israel is resorting to pre-1948 Jewish property laws and expelling Palestinian families who have lived in East Jerusalem for generations.
When Palestinians are unable to present ownership papers, settlers seize buildings by force. The researcher says that the homes are then seized by Israeli Jews.
Israeli Ben Gvir is himself a resident and member of the country’s government:
He stated that the Palestinians in the West Bank have three options: continue to live there as slaves, leave the country voluntarily, or die, says Tostad.
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