Skip to content
ELCA Blogs

Peace Not Walls

Israel has been earmarking Palestinian land for settlements for years, maps show

The Israeli government has been earmarking Palestinian land for settlement expansion for years, maps released recently show.  The maps, which name some new or expanded settlements where Palestinian villages now exist, were only disclosed by Israeli authorities because of a challenge through the Freedom of Information Act by anti-settlement activist Dror Etkes.  90% of this land is east of the Separation Barrier, beyond the main settlement blocs.    Read more

EAPPI helps build peace and work for justice in the Holy Land

Tammie walked children to this school in Hebron, where here soldiers came to detain young students who were supposedly throwing rocks. This is Tammie's photo.

ELCA member Tammie Danielsen spent the winter in Hebron this past year as an Ecumenical Accompanier with the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme for Palestine and Israel (EAPPI).  There she walked children to school to be a presence to prevent violence from Israeli settler attacks, as well as lived in solidarity and community with the local Palestinian residents. 
 
Tammie is featured in an article this month in the Lutheran.
 
Hebron has been divided into two zones since 1997. The area under the control of the civilian Palestinian Authority is populated by some 120,000 Palestinians. The zone under Israeli military control is home to 30,000 Palestinians and 500 Israeli settlers.  The settlers – and military stationed there because of them –
have free access to areas, while some 1,830 Palestinian shops in the city center have closed due to restrictions on Palestinian movement, curfews and the sealing off of entire streets to Palestinians by the Israeli military.
 
EAPPI is an organization of the World Council of Churches begun in 2002 in response to the Jerusalem heads of churches request for other Christians to “come and see” what was happening in the Holy Land.  Volunteers spend three months in one of many sites accompanying the local residents as they work for peace and justice and to end the occupation.  The ELCA has sent more accompaniers from the US than any other US denomination.  For more information about the US program, see http://www.eappi-us.org.

Israel cuts ties with UN Human Rights Council while B’Tselem releases bleak human rights report

Israel decided Monday, March 26, to sever all contact with the United Nations human rights council and with its chief commissioner Navi Pillay, after the international body decided to establish an international investigative committee on the West Bank settlements.

The Foreign Ministry ordered Israel’s ambassador to Geneva to cut off contact immediately, instructing him to ignore phone calls from the commissioner, a senior Israeli official said.  They also decided that they will not permit any officials related to this initiative into the country.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called the move “diplomatic terror,” and Israel was reportedly considering sanctions against the Palestinians for supporting it.  Read more   

It is interesting that these events happened just after a report by the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem released a bleak report on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, stating that the largest human rights violations are precisely because of the settlements: The report states:

The picture is harsh – not because of dramatic events or a sudden deterioration, but precisely because of the routine. This year, we enter the 45th year since Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip. What was supposed to be a temporary situation appears firmly entrenched with no change in sight.

In the West Bank, two and a half million Palestinians live under Israeli military occupation while settlers live in enclaves of Israeli law within the same territory. Individual acts of violence by extremist settlers periodically capture the headlines, and discriminatory and inadequate law enforcement is indeed a concern. However, the major human rights violations result from the settlements: their extensive exploitation of land and water, the massive military presence to protect them, the road network paved to serve them and the invasive route of the Separation Barrier, which was largely dictated by the settlements. Israeli civilians living in the West Bank are also subject to violence. This year, five members of the Fogel family were shot and stabbed to death in their home in the Itamar settlement, and a father and his infant son were killed when their car crashed after rocks were thrown by Palestinians.

Advocating for Equality

Synopsis – Advocacy for a just peace for Israel and Palestine has focused largely on long-term solutions, even while daily life for Palestinians has deteriorated and inequalities have multiplied. While not ignoring the need for a permanent solution, including an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and the cessation of violence by all parties, much could be accomplished by addressing current inequities even if political progress on long-term solutions remains limited or virtually non-existent.

This position paper is intended to inform ELCA members and congregations of possible approaches to current realities in the Israeli-Palestinian situation.

 

Grafitti from the Separation Barrier on Palestinian Land

Graffiti from the Separation Wall near Bethlehem on Palestinian land.

Inequities lead to lack of resources and denial of freedom for Palestinians

Inequities throughout the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel proper deprive many Palestinians of basic resources and fundamental freedoms.

In the occupied territories, Palestinian homes and other buildings have been demolished at an alarming rate to make room for Israeli settlers. West Bank residential demolitions in 2011 caused 1,100 Palestinians to be forcibly displaced from their homes, an increase of over 80% from the number of people displaced in 2010. In addition, over 4,200 people were affected by the demolition of “livelihood structures.” Elaborating on these statistics, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs notes, “These demolitions occur in the context of an inadequate and discriminatory planning regime that restricts Palestinian development, while providing preferential treatment to Israeli settlements” (1).  Meanwhile, Israeli settlements in the West Bank continue to expand. Peace Now reported a 20% rise in settlement construction starts for 2011 with East Jerusalem seeing a 10-year high for settlement plans (2).

In the West Bank, separate roads for Israelis and Palestinians, check points and roadblocks that impede Palestinian travel while facilitating that of Israelis (3), and separate legal systems – civil law for Israelis and military law for Palestinians – make normal life for Palestinians impossible.

East Jerusalem is home to about 270,000 Palestinians. In addition, around 200,000 Israelis live in ever-expanding East Jerusalem settlements. Palestinian homes are demolished, residents are evicted to make room for Jewish settlers, and land is threatened with confiscation for projects such as public parks. A permit regime keeps Palestinians from moving freely in and out of the city. The separation barrier erected by the State of Israel mostly in Palestinian territory restricts entry to Jerusalem for West Bank Palestinians while Israeli settlers can come and go freely.

Land inequities lead to unequal distribution of other natural resources, water in particular. About 80% of the water from the West Bank mountain aquifer, which Israel controls, goes to Israelis – including settlers – leaving only 20% for Palestinians (4).  Israelis consume four times more water than Palestinians in the occupied territories, 300 liters/day compared to 70 liters/day, according to a report by Amnesty International (5).

Palestinians in the West Bank suffer these and other daily indignities and deprivations. At the same time, Palestinians elsewhere face additional discriminatory policies. In Gaza, Palestinians live with inadequate infrastructure, high unemployment, and impediments to movement and access due to the Israeli blockade which imposes restrictions beyond those needed for Israeli security. Palestinian refugees throughout Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Gaza and the West Bank are not allowed to return to their homes while Jews from anywhere in the world are free to immigrate to Israel. And within Israel, Palestinian citizens struggle under an unequal system which, for example, can prevent a spouse from the West Bank from joining his or her partner living in Israel.

Addressing current inequities through advocacy focused on equality

Advocacy for a just peace has focused largely on long-term solutions, while daily life for Palestinians has deteriorated and inequalities have multiplied. While not ignoring the need for a permanent solution, including an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and the cessation of violence by all parties, much could be accomplished by addressing current inequities even if political progress remains limited or virtually non-existent.

Even without a freeze on construction, the harm caused to Palestinians by Israeli settlements could be significantly decreased by a halt to demolitions of Palestinian homes and other buildings. A fair distribution system for water can be implemented prior to a final status agreement. And laws governing East Jerusalem and Israel proper can be configured to treat all persons equally, regardless of ethnicity or religion, without waiting for boundaries and other outstanding issues to be resolved.

Shifting advocacy priorities to address inequalities will create opportunities to make real changes in the short term that will significantly improve daily life.

Areas for immediate attention

While many areas of inequality exist, suggested areas for immediate attention include calling for a halt to demolitions and insisting on equal access to Jerusalem, including equal access to religious sites. The former is particularly urgent given the recent escalation in home demolitions; the latter is of key importance to the economic, political, social and religious life of Palestinians.

Consequences for inaction

Equality can only be instituted by the more powerful party, in this case the Government of Israel. Church-based calls for equality will be strengthened by insistence on consequences for the occupying power if it continues to choose inaction. Specifically, advocates in the United States can employ their citizenship and consumer choices in the service of a just peace. The ELCA’s 2005 Churchwide Strategy for Engagement in Israel and Palestine points out that U.S. foreign aid “helps frame the relationship between Israelis and Palestinians,” and affirms that the ELCA “will seek to expend God-given economic resources in ways that support the quest for a just peace in the Holy Land.” Calls for equality should be accompanied by the message to elected officials that U.S. aid will be contingent on respect for U.S. and international law, both of which support equality. And individuals can vote with their personal expenditures by, for example, exploring ways to avoid purchasing products grown or made in Israeli settlements.

Focusing on present inequalities will help many who are suffering even as a permanent peace remains elusive. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stated, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” By the same token, justice in one area can be a catalyst for justice elsewhere. The steps suggested here will benefit both Israelis and Palestinians, along with supporting peace for all in the region. Organized advocacy efforts, calling for equality and creating consequences for continuing inequality, are what is needed to make a real difference now.

1) “The Monthly Humanitarian Monitor,” UN OCHA oPt, December, 2011.
2) Torpedoing the Two State Solution: Summary of 2011 in the Settlements,” Peace Now, January, 2012.
3) “More than 500 internal checkpoints, roadblocks and other physical obstacles impede Palestinian movement inside the West Bank, including access of children to schools; they exist primarily to protect settlers and facilitate their movement, including to and from Israel.” “The Humanitarian Impact of Israeli Settlement Policies,” UN OCHA oPt, January 2012.
4) “Obstacles to Arab-Israeli peace: Water,” Martin Asser, BBC, September 2, 2010.
5) “Troubled Waters: Palestinians denied fair access to water,” Amnesty International, 2009.

Prepared by the staff team of the ELCA Peace Not Walls campaign

UN Rapporteur Says Demolitions, Evictions and Poor Planning by Israel “Violate Palestinian Right to Adequate Housing”

Bedouin one example of the elimination of adequate Palestinian housing

 

httpv://youtu.be/uhlrG2z2ccw

On January 3rd the Government of Israel published the memorandum of a bill named “Regulation of the Bedouin settlement in the Negev“, in which in states the steps to be implemented in order to relocate the overwhelming majority of the residents of the unrecognized villages and confiscate about 2/3s of the land remaining in their possession. Within the bill are what some consider violent measures to ensure its implementation. This bill is currently going through the legislative process in the Knesset, and soon may become law.

 

 

UN Special Rapporteur says some Israeli policies create “new frontiers of dispossession of the traditional inhabitants, and the implementation of a strategy of Judaisation and control of the territory”

Read full version of her initial findings or the conclusions below:

Israel has been ruling the lands between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean for more than 40 years. After the Oslo agreements, Israel retained official temporary control over the vast majority of the occupied West Bank (Area C). At present, more than half a million Israeli-Jews, have settled in the occupied territories, including East Jerusalem. Throughout my visit, I was able to witness a land development model that excludes, discriminates against and displaces minorities in Israel which is being replicated in the occupied territory, affecting Palestinian communities. The Bedouins in the Negev – inside Israel – as well as the new Jewish settlements in area C of the West Bank and inside Palestinian Neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem – are the new frontiers of dispossession of the traditional inhabitants, and the implementation of a strategy of Judaisation and control of the territory.

In different legal and geographical contexts, from the Galilee and the Negev to the West Bank, I received repeated complaints regarding lack of housing, threats of demolition and eviction, overcrowding, lack of community development, the disproportional number of demolitions affecting Palestinian communities and the accelerated development of predominantly Jewish settlements. The Barrier makes visible what the territorial planning regime has silently implemented for decades, and the blockade is the most extreme expression of separation as a restriction to survive and expand.

In all my interviews with Palestinian citizens of Israel as well as my visits to Palestinian communities, I was impressed by the collective sense of frustration and extreme insecurity with regard to their housing and property rights. I also observed a complete lack of faith that the Israeli military, political or judicial authorities would take effective action to protect their rights, which are enshrined in international instruments to which Israel is party.
It is important to note that Israel’s spatial strategy has been heavily shaped by security concerns, given the belligerent, conflictive nature of Israel-Palestine relations, with waves of violence and terror. But certainly the non-democratic elements in Israeli spatial planning and urban development strategies appear to contribute to the deepening of the conflict, instead of promoting peace.

Additionally, within Israel, privatization, deregulation and commercialization of public assets has undermined the declared goal of the Jewish foundation of the State of Israel – to provide a safe and adequate home for all Ishuv regardless of nationality or income level.

It would appear therefore, that the Israeli planning, development and land system now violates the right to adequate housing not only of Palestinians under Israeli control, but also of low income persons of all identities, who find it increasingly difficult to obtain housing under existing policies. Both aspects of this discriminatory system should be changed to allow all people under the Israeli regime to attain the most basic human right for adequate housing, within the framework of dignity and equality.

Inequality between Palestinians and Israelis

While the peace process remains stymied, and all focus is on whether parties will return to talks or not, suffering does not stand still in the Holy Land, especially for those in the occupied Palestinian territories dealing with discrimination and inequities.

A recent report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the occupied Palestinians territory (UNOCHA) makes this conclusion: 

Israeli civil law is de facto applied to all settlers and settlements across the occupied West Bank, while Israeli military law is applied to Palestinians, except in East Jerusalem, which was officially annexed to Israel (which hasn’t been recognized under international law). As a result, two separate legal systems and sets of rights are applied by the same authority in the same area, depending on the national origin of the persons, discriminating against Palestinians.

These separate systems are the basis of many inequalities:

Though all are supposed to have access to Jerusalem's holy sites, Muslims are regularly prevented from going to pray at the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Here they pray at the checkpoint instead.

 THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT

ROADS AND PERMIT SYSTEMS:
In the West Bank, normal life for Palestinians is virtually impossible because of separate roads for Israelis and Palestinians; check points and roadblocks that impede Palestinian travel while facilitating that of Israelis[1]; and a bureaucratic permit system that allows Palestinians very limited movement even within the West Bank without a permit.

EAST JERUSALEM
East Jerusalem is home to about 270,000 Palestinians.  In addition, 200,000 Israelis live in ever-expanding East Jerusalem settlements.  Palestinian homes are demolished, residents are evicted, and land is threatened with confiscation for projects such as public parks.  A permit regime keeps Palestinians from moving freely in and out of the city.  The barrier restricts entry to Jerusalem for West Bank Palestinians while Israeli settlers can come and go freely.

THE RIGHT TO SECURE HOUSING
HOME DEMOLITIONS
Palestinian homes and other buildings have been demolished at an alarming rate to make room for settlers. West Bank residential demolitions were up 80% in 2011 over 2010, causing 1,100 Palestinians to be forcibly displaced from their homes with 4,200 more affected by the demolition of “livelihood structures.”

Elaborating on these statistics, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs notes, “These demolitions occur in the context of an inadequate and discriminatory planning regime that restricts Palestinian development, while providing preferential treatment to Israeli settlements.”[2]

SETTLEMENT CONSTRUCTION:
Meanwhile, Israeli settlements in the West Bank continue to expand.  Peace Now reported a 20% rise in settlement construction starts for 2011 with East Jerusalem seeing a 10-year high for settlement plans.[3]

THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE ONE’S OWN FAMILY
In the West Bank and Israel, Israeli laws deny the right of people to choose their own spouse and live with him/her.  Within the West Bank, family reunification permits have been frozen for years, which means a Palestinian with a Jerusalem ID cannot legally live with a West Bank spouse in Jerusalem without special dispensation.  Within Israel, a law was recently upheld which disallows a spouse from the West Bank to live with his or her partner in Israel.

 THE RIGHT TO CONTROL AND BENEFIT FROM ONE’S OWN RESOURCES
Land inequities lead to unequal distribution of other natural resources, water in particular.  80% of the water from the West Bank mountain aquifer, which Israel controls, goes to Israelis – including setters – leaving only 20% for Palestinians.[4]  Israelis consume four times more water than West Bank Palestinians, 300 liters/day compared to 70 liters/day, according to a report by Amnesty International.[5].

The Palestinians are also denied the benefit of other resources that by law should be theirs to control, such as the quarries that Israel operates in theWest Bank that recently were allowed to continue. 

Soldiers check a child's backpack on the way to school.

THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION
In Gaza, high school students are often unable to leave the territory for university opportunities, while their Israeli counterparts in Sderot experience no such limitations.

The shortage of classrooms in Jerusalem for Palestinians is notorious, making for extremely crowded conditions.  Many students are hindered or prohibited from entering their schools on a daily basis by the checkpoint system or the barrier.  In Hebron, school children must be walked to school by international peaceworkers to protect them from settler violence.

THE RIGHT OF PEOPLE TO RETURN HOME
Palestinian refugees are not allowed to return to their homes while Jews from anywhere in the world are free to immigrate to Israel.  Many Palestinians who have passports from other countries have had their residency rights revoked and are being issued entry permits only for the West Bank and have trouble entering Jerusalem.


[1]   “More than 500 internal checkpoints, roadblocks and other physical obstacles impede Palestinian movement inside the West Bank, including access of children to schools; they exist primarily to protect settlers and facilitate their movement, including to and fromIsrael.”  “The Humanitarian Impact of Israeli Settlement Policies,” January 2012, UN OCHA oPt.

[2] “The Monthly Humanitarian Monitor,” December 2011.  UN OCHA oPt.

[3] Torpedoing theTwoState Solution: Summary of 2011 in the Settlements, January 2012, Peace Now.

[4] “Obstacles to Arab-Israeli peace:  Water,” September 2, 2010, Martin Asser, BBC.

[5] “Troubled Waters: Palestinians denied fair access to water,” 2009, Amnesty International.