Supporting honest journalism in israel

This is the lead editorial in the Haaretz newspaper in Israel this week. It is one indication of the existence of genuine journalists in an authoritarian and racist state. They deserve the support of principled journalists and democrats everywhere.

Three weeks ago, Hamdan Ballal, a Palestinian activist and resident of the West Bank town of Susya, in the South Hebron Hills, was standing on the world’s biggest stage and holding the Oscar statuette he received for making the film “No Other Land” with Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. The film shows the incessant abuse of Palestinian villagers in the Masafer Yatta region by both the army and the settlers.

The film is shocking and ought to disturb people’s sleep. But the injustice it shows has only worsened since it was finished. Recently, settler attackson Palestinian communities have escalated significantly. Generally, the settlers are masked and they attack Palestinians with stones and fists while engaging in vandalism, making threats and cursing.
On Monday, another attack occurred. Ballal filmed masked settlers throwing stones and then ran home to protect his family. One settler well known in the area came to his home with two soldiers and attacked Ballal, hitting and kicking him. But instead of arresting the assailant, the soldiers arrested and handcuffed Ballal and two other residents. Ballal said the violence continued even after he was in the soldiers’ hands with his eyes covered and his hands bound. All three were forced to spend the night outside. The Israel Defense Forces claims this was an incident of “friction” and that the three are suspected of throwing stones. But, as in many similar cases, there was no evidence against them and they were released on Tuesday.
Two weeks ago, dozens of settlers perpetrated a massive theft of over 1,000 sheep in the Jordan Valley; police officers and soldiers were present. The settlers also killed dozens of sheep and goats in the process of carrying out their theft. Last Friday, after several journalists and activists located some of the sheep and were attacked by settlers, the police once again decided to arrest the victims – this time a German journalist named Christian Meier and an Israeli activist. The German Foreign Ministry condemned the arrest.

On Sunday, seven members of the Abd al-Basit family left their home in Hebron for an iftar meal, and when they returned they discovered soldiers were barring them from entering, and settlers had moved into the house and removed all their belongings.. One day later, the Palestinians were allowed to return to a small part of the house, but the settlers still occupy most of it, claiming they bought it. As in previous cases, the Palestinians’ chances of disproving these claims in an Israeli court are slim.

Under cover of the resumption of the war in the Gaza Strip, a sympathetic administration in the White House and an irresponsible government in Jerusalem, the settlers have shed all restraints in their abuse of their Palestinian neighbors. The job of stoppin this deterioration in the West Bank now rests with the new IDF chief of staff, Eyal Zamir. He must call the head of Central Command to order and force him to uphold Israeli and international law and prevent such injustices, while demanding that the police and the Shin Bet security service arrest these Jewish terrorists.

Please distribute this. I — without any reason having been given — have now been ruled “ineligible” to post anything on FaceBook,so please do so. — Terry Bell