Saturday was a burning hot day in the West Bank. Combatants for Peace, a group made up of Israeli ex-combat soldiers and Palestinian ex-fighters, planned a protest at an illegal outpost adjacent to Shufa, a Palestinian village in the northern West Bank that is very close to the Green Line. The illegal outpost was built by settlers from the settlement of Avney Hefetz over the last three weeks. They simply took over a hilltop on Palestinian land and constructed makeshift tents that are guarded by the IDF. While the tents are not settlements, the pattern is clear. Build a tent, then build a house, then another one and you have a settlement protected by the IDF that then becomes a “consensus area” too populated to ever evacuate.
Combatants for Peace decided that the best form of protest for this illegal behavior was to build a structure next to the outpost itself. We wanted to gauge the reaction of the IDF if we engaged in the precisely the same activities as the settlers – except for one major difference: We were invited by the landowner such that our presence there was actually legit.
Over two hundred Israeli, Palestinian and international activists approached the hilltop from two different angles to confuse the two units of soldiers protecting the settler outpost. The few soldiers that greeted us pronounced the area to be a ‘closed military zone’. Given the amount of people we had they could do nothing to bar us from the area. We arrived at the hilltop and began to build our protest tent. As soon as the structure—a few flimsy plastic tubes with cloth draped over them – was built, the IDF immediately moved in and destroyed it using stun grenades to remove anyone that was in the area. Their faces burned as red as that of the triangle on the Palestinian flag. We built the structure again and the IDF destroyed it again, finally deciding to confiscate the polls from us.
Combatants for Peace then held a press conference for the various Arabic language reporters on the scene. There were no American or Israeli media outlets present despite invitations by Combatants for Peace. The Arab media is evidently more interested in covering the story of nonviolent resistance to the occupation by Israelis and Palestinians than the US or Israeli media. During the press conference, an Israeli member of the Combatants for Peace made an interesting point about the role of the United States in this conflict. He proclaimed to the crowd, “We must remember that this conflict is between us and our Palestinian neighbors, and if we do not continue to remind the Israeli society and government of this, we will continue to wrongly believe that if we reach agreements with the Americans everything will be OK. No! The agreement must be made with the Palestinians and the construction of another illegal outpost damages our chances of reaching such an agreement.”
The conference came to an end and we began to leave the hilltop. As we were leaving, a settler from the outpost ran towards the group. The soldiers guarding the settler outpost immediately went after him as he was clearly looking for confrontation. As the soldiers approached him he pulled out a gun and pointed it directly at the soldiers. After a brief but tense pause the soldiers were able to get the gun from him. Had one of the nonviolent peaceful protestors attempted such an action they would have surly been attacked or shot. But there are two sets of laws in Israel and the West Bank: one for the settlers and one for everyone else. Imagine someone in the United States pulling out a gun and pointing it in the face of a police officer or soldier? What would happen to that person?
In the Wild West Bank these types of things happen every day and the violent people that perpetrate these crimes hardly ever have to answer for them.
I honestly don’t know how the Palestinians remain patient. I wouldn’t be able to stand by as someone stole my land bit by bit.
Shafiq, do you remember when Israel sent in tanks to Nablus and the tanks rolled down all the major streets destroying everything? The economy was ruined, business were flattened, no electricity for a long time, I don’t remember for how long. Just a very long time. My sister in law who lives in Nablus was in Amman at the time. We spoke to her on the phone a day or 2 after the attack. Her biggest worry was how to get back home! I asked her (dumb me who really really get it back then) “why don’t you just stay in Jordan? Why go back, it’s too much crap all the time!” She replied “that’s what they want us to do, and why we all try and get back home in a hurry!” I mean wow, are these Palestinians steadfast warriors or what? I knew right then that the Palestinians will win. I’m serious.
Michelle: thanks for the great story!
I too have heard such stories. The Palestinians will win and the refugees will return.
Too bad Jordan doesn’t want Palestinians either, such a peace loving asset to society and no one wants you, go figure huh?
It’s not too bad that Jordan doesn’t want Palestinians, because the Palestinians don;t want ot be in Jorda either. Their home is Palestine.
Yo might recall that no one wanted the Jews after WWII either, so that’s hardly a yardstick for virtue. I guess they didn;t teach you that at Zionazi boot camp Yoni?
Yoni C,
Pretend you’re living in the 1900s and replace the word Jordan with let’s say Russia and the word Palestinians with Jews.
Not a very nice thing to say now, is it?
Yoni is an obese whore.
It is amazing how when I meet vociferously anti Palestinian people in the US they always say things like, “HOW COME THEIR PROTESTS ARE ALWAYS VIOLENT, ALWAYS ATTACKING. WHERE IS THEIR GHANDI?”
I suppose its a different story when it comes to nonviolent resistance throwing off the arm of a country 1/2 way across the world, compared with non violent resistance throwing off the arm of a country that is right next to you. Oh – and they use weapons on non violent protestors. Oh, and their military doesn’t follow their own supreme court rulings. Oh – and the media attempts to ignore what is going on.
Thank you Mr. Dana for sharing this video that so clearly illustrates the IDF-enforced Double Standard for settlers and non-settlers. Why do US dollars go to support the settlers and the IDF??
I met two combatants for peace last year.
They were inspiring.
Incredible. Thank you. What a symbolic act do just as the illegal Israeli settlers have done on Palestinian land and the IDF takes it down. What complete horseshit.
The video clips that you folks are putting up allow the world to see what has been going on in occupied territories for decades.
Three cheers for the ex Israeli soldiers and the rest of the crew.
Thanks for what you are doing
Pro Palestine..based on the 67 border
Pro Israel
Pro Peace
Question–
I have a law degree and am an attorney.
What I do not understand at all, is the role that law plays in Israeli society (I’m not talking specifically about the legal treatment of Palestinians but how law functions within Israel, among Israelis).
For example, it appears that Israeli Supreme Court judgments on many occasions are ignored by the IDF and any other interested parties. At least in the US, if the parties to a SCt decision ignore that judgment, the court simply issues an order to the federal marshals to carry it out.
And if the marshals would ignore that order—a first class constitutional crisis would erupt.
Also, given that this new settlement is in violation of Israeli law, why does the IDF not enforce that law? Why do they “protect” that settlement?
In Israel, is the military not under civilian command?
Yes, I understand that Netanyahu will not enforce the law against settlements, but how does he get away with ignoring clear court rulings?
pineywoodslim-
Check out some of Joseph’s other videos that have been posted here like the one with the older guy talking about how the soldier needs to give an explanation to himself.
I know that there is a law in Israel and it is often broken by the IDF in favor of the settlers with little repercussion. I would urge you to check out Yesh Din or Btselem for more infomation on how all this works.
There is a fight for law in Israel and the organizations and activists that are fighting that fight deserve our respect and admiration!
Thank you.
I checked out Yesh Din and Btselem. They are doing good work on focusing on the problems of Israeli law-lessness relative to the IDF and settlers. Yet, my ultimate question is how the IDF is able to get away with overt violations of Israeli law.
How does the defense minister justify or respond to it?
Piney,
Yesh Din (which means There Is Law) and BTselem focus EXCLUSIVELY on preceived injustices committed by Israelis. They IGNORE (and admit to ignoring) injustices commited by Arabs, Palestineans and Islamo-Fascists. Their ‘reporting’ is grossly one-sided and ALWAYS takes issues out of context. Keep this in mind.
If you understand the balances of the Law, you should understand what is wrong with these propaganda groups.
BTselem focus EXCLUSIVELY on provable injustices committed by Israelis, becasue Israel is responsible for the overwhelming number of injustice and human righs abuses.
After all, the Palestineans are under occupation and thereby recognized as having a right to resits that occupation.
BTselem’s ‘reporting’ isn’t grossly one-sided, but simply weighted in favor of the side that is overwhemingly in the wrong. What other conclusion can one deduce when the fatalaty ratio is 10:1 against Israel?
Don;t listen to Jake. He’s a cookie conspiracy theorist who has no clue about law, choosing instea to focus on spreadign Zionist propaganda.
The Israel Supreme Court is not supreme at all. It is such in name only. There’s no
Constitution for it to even interpret to determine basic civil rights or foreign policy
validity. The IDF is the de facto supreme law of the land in Israel. There is something that looks vaguely like a bill of rights called the Basic Laws; but they are ignored at
will by the IDF and all Israeli agencies. There is no democracy except for the Israeli Jews as between themselves. Israel is an ethno-theocratic state.
[The Nation] Prussia on the Mediterranean?
Pineywoodslim,
The problem that you have noticed is traceable back to the fact that that Israel has no Constitution, and thus has no separation of powers and no requirement that the executive branch enforce the law as determined by the judiciary. Thus the Israeli Supreme Court rulings are ONLY enforced to the extent that the government, or the military, are willing to enforce them, and for some laws and in some instances the government has absolutely no interest in abiding by, or enforcing, Israeli Supreme Court decisions.
This has also resulted in the Israeli Supreme Court issuing rather meek decisions in the area of justice and equality when it comes to how Israel treats its Arab citizen minority and its Arab subjects in the occupied territories, since it really only has its moral force and the willingness of its citizens and the government to agree to its decisions to give it legitimacy.
As I described it before, its as if “Brown vs. Board of Education” could only be applied to Linda Brown. Israeli Supreme Court decisions about the legality of the Separation Wall that cuts through the Occupied Territories are all decided on an ad-hoc basis, requiring each village or municipality or individual who is harmed by the theft of land to bring suit over their particular circumstances, which the court will then weigh against the interests of “security”, and issue a case by case decision. “Security” is one of those words that can be used to excuse a myriad of discriminatory vices in Israel.
The village of Bi’lin has won such a case over its lands, but the decision asked the military to enforce it at their earliest convenience and the IDF hasn’t found the enforcement of the decision to be “convenient” for it yet, even though the court decision was made over 2 years ago. A similar but much, much older case was brought before the court by the Israeli Arab citizens of the former villages of Bi’ram and Ikrit way back in 1953, They were forced out of their village by the IDF in 1948-9, and told that they could return when the danger subsided. Instead their houses were demolished and the land was turned over to Jewish settlement. They sued in court to return and in 1953 got an Israeli Supreme Court decision in their favor, instructing the government to allow their return as soon as the government thought it was logistically possible. The citizens are STILL waiting, over 50 years later. The government says it just isn’t possible to enforce that decision because it might set a precedent that the government does not want to set. There is nothing the Supreme Court can do to compel enforcement of their decisions.
In Israel, the military is ostensibly under civilian control, but the government bureaucracy is largely made up of retired IDF commanders. The easiest way to rise in government is through retirement from the military with a high rank. (This is also a good way to rise in the business sector there as well.) It is often said (in Israel) that Israel is an army with a country rather than the other way around. Military service has always been highly venerated there. If you understand that, then you can understand how truly radical it is in Israel to have groups such as “New Profile” and others who are attempting to push ideas that are contrary to the highly militaristic society.
In the meantime, yesterday
“Some 200 people, mostly children, arrived near the West Bank town of Tul Karm yesterday to establish a new illegal outpost. The IDF did not stop them or interfere.
The outpost, Tzur Ya, is one of 11 set up yesterday and the day before by the militant Youth for Israel movement. “
Yet again, I do not understand how the Israeli army refuses to abide by Israeli law—the enforcement of that law should flow from the Israeli Supreme Court through the chain of command, from the civilian authorities to the military.
Because the IDF is the army of the settlers. As simple as that. They don’t follow orders they don’t feel like obeying.
In the end, Israel will rot away from within, but by that time there will be no Palestine remaining, unfortunately.
Yes Potsherd, I understand what you say is true.
Yet, as a person with a legal background, I was looking for whatever legal theory exists that allows the IDF to ignore Israeli law. In other words, in the US, litigation is second nature, and if institutions don’t obey the law, then judicial proceedings follow.
Not trying to say that the US govt doesn’t attempt–and is often successful in breaking the law–just that such attempts are almost universally challenged in a public court.
The Israeli Supreme Court is the supreme law of Israel in name only–there’s no Constitution, just a set of Basic Laws that are ignored at will by the IDF.
The settlements have been found to be illegal by the Israeli Superme Court, The INternational Court of Justice, the UN and Israel’s highest legal authoty on international law, Teodor Meron.
Seeing as you are not an international lawyer Eitan, we can assume you are wrong.
Read my post above to understand how this works ( or doesn’t) in Israel. There is no Constitutional, or other legal, requirement that forces the executive to enforce or obey the legal decisions of the Israeli Supreme Court. Its a “bug” of the Israeli governmental system that those who are opposed to justice for the Palestinians now consider a “feature”.
Sorry guys, we do not have separate entities here, there is no army just of the settlers. There is total responsibility for the entire mess from the top down. Were the soldiers just the army of the settlers when they attacked and massacred Palestinian in Gaza? No, it is the entire entity.
There is no separate entity, just one racist force embued with the same spirit as the settlers.
Here is some interesting info – Israeli Foreign Ministry tries to cut off Holland funding for Breaking The Silence -
Group that exposed ‘IDF crimes’ in Gaza slams Israel bid to choke off its funds
You can bleat all you want about the settlement/colonies being legal but it just isn’t so.
No one but ignorant people or people who want to steal as much land as they can say that the settlements are legal. Under international law EVERY settlement is illegal no matter how much you hate to hear it.
Haven’t the Israelis stolen enough land already? Haven’t the Israelis made enough enemies already?
Is this the new Judaism? Stealing what belongs to others? Is Israel the Bernie Madoff of the Middle East? Sure looks like it.
Everything israel is doing is legal. Just as everything the Nazis did was legal. The Nazis set up a legal system to justify their murders and ethnic cleansing, etc. Yellow arm bands for jews were part of the legal system. Denial of work for Jews was part of the legal system. Jews were “legally” sent to their deaths in the concentration camps. Israel has set up the same legal structure.
You can’t look to the law for anything, other than official justification of whatever a corrupt and murderous regime wants to do.
eiten is a known person who ought to have been tossed into an oven a long time ago.
if you were a HINDU I’d throw you in an oven.
Personally.
as a public service.
Last message was for Eitan, the Zionist who loves to steal.
The Land of Israel Faithful group, led by Daniella Weiss, recently vowed to set up 30 outposts over the summer, and the current building frenzy seems to be part of it. Check it out here.
The objective is not so much to erect new land-grabbing units as to reinforce the existing ones. In Ms Weiss’ own candid words: “I have learned from experience that if you create new things, it strengthens the old ones.”
Why are the American Nazi rapists leaving Iraq?
That’s simple.
The American Nazi rapists are leaving Iraq because so many of them got their hands, faces, teeth, eyes and heads blown off.
That’s why they’re leaving and for absolutely no other reason.
The Israelis have to be attacked and killed. As many as possible. If their Nazi society is sufficiently disrupted so that normal life can not continue there, they will make a peace deal out of necessity. Otherwise, they will complete the job of destroying the Palestinians. I don’t want that. Do you?
Eitan – you already have your land. It is behind the Green Line. It became your land after you ethnically cleansed 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and lands. I think this was the first act of ethnic cleansing after World War 2, an act in which a close American born relative of mine participated as a member of the Palmach. He described many years ago how the hapless Palestinians were driven at gun point from their homes in Palestine across the border into Lebanon. I don’t know if he killed anyone. Like the good Germans, I just didn’t want to know. Now that he is dead it is too late to ask him because today, after I learned the facts about the establishment of the state of Israel, I do want to know.
This ethnic cleansing was a part of Ben Gurion’s Plan D to depopulate the Jewish state of its non-Jewish population. The victims of Hitler became the victimizers of another people.
Today an act such as this would not be allowed to stand. Witness what happened when Milosovic ethnically cleansed the Kosova Albanians. Lots of bombs were dropped on the ethnic cleansers.
It’s hard to read your ill-informed monologue. You really have to stop lying if you are going to try to make a point. As it is, you’re just putting out another line of BS on MondoLies.
Possibly the first act of ethnic cleansing after WWII was the murder of Jews trying to return to their homes in Poland.
Saxon – it probably is pointless to try and point out realities to you and Eitan. But the history is there. You can easily find out about Plan Dalat if you want to but you probably don’t.
Not one word I have said is a lie. If you don’t want to believe that is your problem.
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it is really pointless to engage with eitan. He has no idea what he is talking about in terms of Israeli or international law. best to stick with Yesh Din or another organization of merit like Peace Now settlement watch.
It is pointless to try to make your point by lying. We see right through you, Jess.
What do you mean we Saxon? Please don’t confuse the voices in your head for an audience.
Jess is right. Eitan is jusy a mindless drone who will repeat his babble indefinitely, believing somehow that he’s wining the argument by doing so.
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You’re racist and a bigot Eitan. Know one who has been reading this blog is going to give you any sympathy. Want lovelyisraelis to stop being hateful? Fair enough. You should as well though.
Whoops, “no” one not “know” one…
This user, I am convinced, is a Zionist posing as an antisemite to smear the opponents of Israeli oppression. This is a typical tactic from those of morally bankrupt positions.
I’ve called for lovelyisraelis to be banned, but by the same token, you too ought to be banned. Both of you post hate-filled crap.
Is lovelyisraelis indicative of the general mood of commenters on this website?
No, he isn’t.
This person lovelyisraelis advocates the mass murder of Jews but nobody stands up to him.
I have replied to his comments several times in attempts to moderate his behavior, and reported him several times as well. He has received criticism from many here on Mondoweiss, and while I realize that you want to think he is representative of those opposing colonial Zionism and the Lobby, you are deluding yourself. I think what raises your hackles is that no one stands with you. What does that say about your honor? Willful ignorance is just a polite euphemism for moral cowardice.
You have no right to make moral judgements on us with people like that in your midst.
He is not ‘in our midst’. This site has posters from all over the planet, and the suspicion of many on this site, including myself, is that he is one of you acting as an agent provocateur. He is more likely to be ‘in your midst’. Your co-radicals in my country lied us into war with Iraq and are currently attempting to lie us into war with Iran. The Lobby arranges the theft of billions of dollars every year from my country at a time when our human and physical infrastructure is reeling, unemployment is at a record high, and even hunger is spreading. You steal from me, you put my family in needless danger for thieving hilltop colonist trailer trash, I have not only a right to make moral judgments against you, but a duty.
Is lovelyisraelis indicative of the general mood of commenters on this website?
No he isn’t. And this is one of those moments where I dearly miss intensedebate’s feature where you could rate posts.
Then again, it’s awfully convenient for you, isn’t it? Too bad that the old “Hitler was a non-smoker!” has never been a good argument in favor of smoking either.
Now I’m paranoid, but I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of “lovelyisraelis” being an agent provocateur.
Any reader can easily discover on the internet that eitan is lying and that in fact it’s just the opposite. All outposts and building for over forty years has been illegal by international law and USA official policy (never honored by the USA’s own consecutive regimes).
All outposts and building in the Land of Israel are legal according to international law and Justice.
Even the outpost that was put up by the Combatants for Peace group?
Insufficient to Call Israel Nazi!
eitan–
How are those outposts legal under Israeli law?
Contrary to your assertion that the Israeli Supreme Court has too much power, apparently it has none. But that would fit a society in which the rule of law is non-existent.
All of the Jewish-only settlements that Israel has built in the West Bank and east Jerusalem are in violation of the Geneva conventions, which has the force of international law. Under the Geneva conventions it is illegal for the government of an occupying country to settle an area that it is occupying militarily, with its own population.
“On all sides I would like to avoid that.”
That’s actually pretty funny coming from the creep who was gloating over Rachel Corrie’s death.
To repeat what I just typed, I would like to see lovelyisraelis banned and I did report him yesterday, but I’d like to see you banned too. Though there is some entertainment value in watching you act shocked when someone else types something despicable. Maybe the solution is to have threads where only the two of you are allowed to post, and not to let either of you in any of the other threads.
So Eitan was it OK with you when an Israeli leader referred to the Palestinians as cockroaches? There have been plenty of dehumanizing remarks about Palestinians made by Jews both in and out of Israel.
Were it not for Israeli Jews such as Combatants for Peace and other similar organizations I would have given up long ago on the religion into which I was born. If all Jews were like you I would absolutely deny any connection to Judaism. I would be too ashamed to be associated with someone like you and the other racist ilk that give a bad name to Judaism. But thank God or whomever, there are Jews who stand for justice for everyone, not just for Jews.
donald
Israel is a country of eitans. That is what the polls and all the available evidence overwhelmingly show.
Now either you want to Palestinians to have something resembling a life and an end to their suffering—or you don’t. But they can NOT have a life while the filth of Israel are there.
To not see that is willful blindness.
Eitan, If this is the new Judaism then the hell with it. Fortunately there are Jews who think and know that people like you to more to destroy Judaism than any anti-Semitic bigot.
On the other hand, are you for real or just here for kicks to stir up the pot?
Eitan, get it through your exceedingly thick head that you DO NOT own the land. You may want to own it, you many lust for it but sure as the sun rises in the morning it is NOT your land. Where is your receipt? And please don’t throw out anything about God giving the land to the Jews. Anyone who believes that needs a good dose of meds.
Eitan,
Yes we have, several times. The same way we point out your rabid hatred for Palestinians
The settlements have been found to be illegal by the Israeli Superme Court, The INternational Court of Justice, the UN and Israel’s highest legal authoty on international law, Teodor Meron.
Seeing as you are not an international lawyer Eitan, we can assume you are wrong.
If you’ve been around awhile, you’d know that my posts consistently received very high vote ratings. So I certainly wouldn’t object to the custom being reinstated. If we had a system where the lowest votes were “thrown off the Island” then jake, yoni, saxon and allied vermin would have been booted out of here and I’d still be posting.
For both of you…several posts bearing my screen name were NOT written by me.