As a Palestinian bid for recognition at the UN nears, Israel is responding by massively increasing construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem settlements. I previously reported how Israel has approved over 5,500 new settlement homes, both deep in the West Bank and especially in the ring of settlements cutting off East Jerusalem from the West Bank.
Today, the Israeli group Peace Now documents a massive speed-up in settlement construction:
The report, based on aerial photographs and on-site visits also claims that immediately after the 10-month construction freeze (October 2010-July 2011), construction began on 2,598 projects within the West Bank settlements – 64% (1,642) of which were units with grounds attached.
Moreover, groundwork for the construction of an additional 317 additional units and 100 caravans has already been completed. According to Peace Now, at least 383 of the housing units are illegal and 157 out of the units are to be constructed on illegal outposts.
Incidentally, the construction of 3,700 housing units continued throughout the construction freeze due to the fact that groundwork was laid before the freeze began.
That is a total of at least 6,700 units under construction. How to put that into scale? It is double the rate of housing construction inside Israel proper:
According to the movement, while the construction rate within the 1967 borders is one housing unit per 235 residents, in the settlements the rate is one unit for every 123 residents.
In other words, the Israel government is intentionally ignoring housing construction inside Israel, where there is an acknowledged housing crisis (according to the 450,000 protesters in the streets last week) in order to focus on expanding the settlements.
Meanwhile, the settlers are stepping up their attacks on Palestinians.
In the most extreme incident, settlers attacked a mosque near Nablus, smashing windows, painting slogans, and setting it on fire:
According to Palestinian sources, a group of settlers arrived at the village mosque at approximately 3 A.M., threw burning tires toward it, and broke several of its windows.
This attack was so extreme that even Netanyahu has condemned it.
Other recent attacks include throwing rocks at Palestinian cars. A professor at Bethlehem University describes what might be other attacks:
Dr. Adwan Adwan, a faculty member in the Arabic Department at Bethlehem University, was the victim of a violent attack by some 20 Israeli settlers who threw rocks in his face, injuring his head, shoulder, and stomach. His car was blocked by a pile of burning tires when he quickly came under what he said felt like a well-orchestrated ambush. Dr. Adwan eventually was able to speed away from the scene and get himself to a hospital for treatment. "I felt lucky to escape with my life," he says.
On the same day and further along the same road, near the settlement of Shiloh in the Palestinian Territories, Miss Yara Odeh, a Bethlehem University masters degree student, was the victim of a violent attack by some Israeli settlers. Yara found herself stuck in what appeared to be a traffic jam caused by Israeli settlers pelting cars with rocks. With the road blocked, she escaped from her car through the passenger door and ran toward nearby Israeli soldiers, calling for help. She reports being refused help and being told to return to her car. "The settlers seemed not so much interested in damaging the car as they were in harming me," she says of the incident.
In another example, settlers attack a Palestinian home. As of two weeks ago, the UN had documented at least 251 separate attacks by settlers (a 40% increase over the previous year), which injured at least 122 Palestinians and destroyed homes, businesses, property, and at least 5,800 olive trees.
Meanwhile, the settlers are stepping up their plans for violence against Palestinians during the Palestinian bid for recognition at the UN:
Yossef also warned the Knesset about possible violent rallies in the neighborhood. "If such marches will head in our direction and attempt to enter our homes, we will not think twice about executing the Dromi Law."
The Dromi Law allows homeowners to shoot burglars without facing criminal charges. The legislation was introduced following the case of southern farmer Shai Dromi who shot and killed a Bedouin who broke into his farm.
"I'm just saying it'll be very easy to retaliate."
Pro-settler organizations are also putting out the call for “militants” to travel to the settlements to fight. From the French Jewish Defense League’s website (via Google translate):
TRAVEL militant solidarity in the West Bank
Posted September 3, 2011 by Administrator
The JDL is organizing 19 to 25 September, a trip solidarity with our Israeli brothers living on the land of our ancestors Judea and Samaria.
This trip is for militants with military experience: The aim of this expedition is to lend a hand to our brothers face the aggression Palestinian occupants and thus enhance the security features of Jewish cities in Judea and Samaria.
In other words, both the Israeli settlers and Israeli government are taking action to consolidate their control of the West Bank and East Jerusalem prior to the Palestinian bid at the UN. These actions, both the expansion and the settlements and the violent attacks on civilians, fly directly in the face of US policy and positions. The US should take a stand against these actions and in favor of what both the US’s long-standing official position and President Obama’s own declared position, and vote to recognize a Palestinian state along the 1967 lines.