An Israeli government body that represents 72,000 Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank has published a map of its jurisdiction that shows only Jewish settlements– simply removing scores of Palestinian villages and the cities of Ramallah and al-Bireh.
The map was published by the Binyamin Regional Council on a webpage in English titled “Build Your Future With Us” aimed at attracting American Jews to move to “northern Jerusalem suburbs.” The page lists 17 illegal Jewish settlements, some deep in the West Bank, that Binyamin says are “located in the center of Israel.”
Binyamin towns have become one of the most desirable locations in Israel for newcomers, thanks to the centeral location, breathtaking historical views, and above all – the communities: warm and friendly, excellent education systems, diverse population and lively community life.
The map reflects the thinking of recent Israeli governments– beholden to the rightwing settler movement or dominated by them– that have repeatedly threatened to annex West Bank lands and push Palestinians off them.
Binyamin Regional Council is an official local Israeli government body, the late Yossi Gurvitz explained to me in an email two weeks ago: “The Binyamin Regional Council is a regional council, a statuary-recognized form of local government, responsible for 46 settlements. It’s supported by government funds and local taxes. It’s the largest regional council (Regional Councils often gather villages and peripheral towns), with 72,000 residents (=settlers).”
Gurvitz said the trick of eliminating Palestinian population centers in maps is an old practice by settlements. “It’s not news. they’ve been doing it for years, possibly decades (in Hebrew, anyway – I have little knowledge of their propaganda efforts in English), but yeah, I believe it’s noteworthy.
“Deleting the native population off the map is an act of mental genocide, which is essential to actual genocide,” Gurvitz said.
The map does include two Palestinian population centers, Jericho. And Jerusalem. Though those cities are also of biblical importance to Jews.
Gurvitz also noted that the Binyamin Regional Council logo is an image of a wolf, and has the motto, “Binyamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey and at evening dividing the spoil,” from Genesis 49:27.
While we had to hear the outrage that the Arabs are trying to “wipe Israel off the map”, factually it is the apartheid state that keeps doing so, as they steal, annex and erase maps. It has been well documented by scholars that the zionists are doing their utmost to claim ownership of lands, by ignoring the existence of the Palestinian people, who are losing their lands on a daily basis, and being wiped off the map, using the most ridiculous means to do so, and AGAINST INTERNATIONAL LAWS.
“Removing Borders, Erasing Palestinians: Israeli Population Maps after 1967
Today, in addition to the devastation of Israeli strikes and incursions, Palestinians are also regularly tried for crossing borders that are functionally invisible and whose precise location, for “security” reasons, they aren’t officially permitted to know. The effects might be comical if they were not so debilitating. To give just one example, despite paying Israeli taxes for decades, Diana Kurd, a Palestinian widow from Anata, was stripped of her pension because her deceased husband had slept on the wrong side of their bed. Namely, his side of the bed lay outside the Jerusalem city boundary, while hers lay within it, yet the boundary itself was determined according to the Israeli authorities’ maps — maps that at such fine scales, are usually classified.”
https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/removing-borders-erasing-palestinians-israeli-population-maps/
The world’s greatest democracy, and champion of “human rights and freedom for all”, is FUNDING THESE CRIMES. Every Congressperson and American President who helps fund the occupation, and does nothing to END the occupation , if they had any conscience and honesty, should hang their heads in shame, that this is happening because of their sick support for this rogue nation.
They should stop using the words “two state solution”, it is now a joke.
Israel is occupying, stealing, annexing, and killing children, and they say and do NOTHING.
I put the term “Palestinian” in their search engine ( https://www.binyaminregion.org.il/build-your-future-with-us/ ) and it returned “Results Not Found”!
Americans who move to Palestine will no doubt complain about how dangerous it is, how scared they are, because of the Indigenous Palestinians. They should stay in America, where the Indigenous people have already been pretty well wiped out already.
HERE is a screenshot of the actual page.
Virtual ethnic cleansing, only a little ahead of what is planned and going on on the ground. Who’s complaining?