Uprooted trees in West Bank
Photo: AP
Defending settler anarchy
Settler violence in West Bank well documented
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz suddenly figured out that violent settlers are damaging Palestinian property, and says he is shocked by this surprising phenomenon.
Minister Mofaz can save us the cost of his investigation. Instead, should simply read the thousands of pages written on the topic in recent years, by B'tselem and other human rights groups active in the territories, as well as several law enforcement agencies in Israel.
Sarit Michaeli is the head of public relations for B'tselemHe said he would appoint a team to investigate incidents of settlers cutting down olive trees. Law enforcement in the territories could stand some serious improvements, but not in the realm of information.
West Bank
Efrat Weiss
Police launch investigation into cutting of 120 olive trees in West Bank Palestinian village. Residents claim settlers were behind crime; police say villagers may have caused damage to get compensation
These reports document damage to Palestinian olive crops, violence in the South Mount Hebron region and the eviction of Palestinians from their homes in Hebron.
Mofaz might also add Talia Sasson's illegal outpost report, the Shamgar Commission findings about the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre in 1994, and the 1982 Karp Report about law enforcement in the territories.
These issues are well known: Israeli citizens can rage out of control in the territories because Israel's law enforcement establishment has consistently demonstrated a weak hand in dealing with the phenomenon and the IDF ignoring its responsibility to defend the Palestinian population.
This stems from what Talia Sasson called the symbiosis between the IDF and the settlers, which tells soldiers that their job is to serve the settlers, rather than the rule of law.
The settlers attack Palestinians, take out their wrath on them and evict them from their property, yet they are treated with silk gloves. At every stage, the authorities turn their back on the victims: On the ground, IDF soldiers refuse to get involved, despite their obligation to defend the Palestinians.
In most cases, when there is a dispute over land ownership, be it pastoral or agricultural land, soldiers prefer to push the Palestinians away rather than fight with the settlers, who enjoy political clout.
If there is any police investigation at all for suspected violence or property damage, it is conducted with such laziness that few investigations actually produce results. In rare cases, settlers are brought to trial and some have even been convicted, but have been given laughable sentences. This policy serves to encourage violent elements amongst the settler population to do as they please with property belonging to their Palestinian neighbors.
Just read the reports
In practice, Mofaz doesn't really even have to read the reports. All he's got to do is bother to read a few pages sent to him by human rights organizations in August, just before disengagement.
That document details the failures of law enforcement in the territories, points out the areas given to disturbances – the settlements and outposts in the Nablus area (one of the flashpoints for olive tree cuttings recently in the news), the Jewish settlement in Hebron, settlements in the South Mount Hebron region and those west of Ramallah.
For the defense establishment's convenience, we also attached several operative suggestions.
It is hard to believe that Mofaz, who refused to fire his assistant for settlement affairs despite suspicions of actions bordering on the criminal, as specified in the Sasson report, would take seriously the issue of defending Palestinians and their property.
However, even if Mofaz really deals with the anarchy running rampant in the territories, there is no need to waste time and money on a new study. He should simply implement the findings of earlier studies and reports.
