Settler violence is on the rise in the West Bank: The story of the Azzeh family

Settler violence in the West Bank is on the rise. In the first eight months of 2008 UN OCHA recorded "290 settler-related incidents targeting Palestinians and their property." When compared to the figures of the previous two years (182 in 2006 and 243 in 2007) it is clearly evident of a worrying trend. According to B'Tselem, “Israelis, individually or in organized groups, carry out the attacks on Palestinians and Palestinian property to frighten, deter, or punish them, using weapons and ammunition they received from the IDF.” In cataloging accounts of settler violence UN OCHA have concluded that, "settler violence is not random criminal activity; in most cases, it is ideology-driven, organized violence, the goal of which is to assert settler dominance over an area."

Nature of Settler Violence

Actions against Palestinians living near settlers include: blocking roadways, destruction of property including solar panels and water tanks on tops of buildings, torching automobiles, shattering windows, destroying crops, uprooting trees. Some of the actions are intended to try and frighten Palestinians to force them to leave their homes so that settlers can take control of them. During the olive picking season settler violence also increases resulting in casualties among Palestinian olive-pickers, destruction of trees and the theft of Palestinian crops. While the violence takes many forms the most severe actions have resulted in the loss of life.

Hashem Azzeh  

I had been so taken aback by the hospitality and friendliness shown to me over the past weeks that I had lured myself into a false sense of what I am doing here in Hebron. Today I sat and listened to the stories of Hashem Azzeh and his family and the suffering they have endured over the past years due to the occupation and the existence of Israeli settlers living above his home.

Hashem Azzeh, his wife and his children (aged 11, 6 and 1) live below the Tel Rumeida settlement in the Israeli-controlled H2 Area of Hebron. The family has been the subject of frequent attacks by settlers over the years. To illustrate the transformation that Tel Rumeida has undergone, before the imposed curfew on Palestinian movement from 2000-2003 this area housed 350 Palestinian families. Today only 50 remain due to a combination of an escalation of attacks from settlers, security concerns and economic impoverishment.  

Speaking to Hashem it becomes evident the level of abuse, intimidation and violence that he and his family has to endure on a daily basis. The family has had to suffer rubbish and stones thrown into their back yard and at their house on a regular basis. While Hashem recounts incidents in the past, the reality of the situation his family faces sinks in. His wife has been verbally threatened with rape while stones have been shoved into his nephew's mouth by a settler woman resulting in broken teeth. The settlers have tried to poison Hashem's water supply. When he installed water tanks to counter this, the settlers came and shot holes in the tanks. His front door has failed to escape such aggression with the Star of David sprayed on it. Hashem recounts that during one attack the words "Gas Arabs" was also marked on his door. An Israeli soldier subsequently told Hashem to remove the words "Gas Arabs." But when Hashem tried to also remove the Star of David the soldier told him to stop, stating that the Star of David represents Israel and therefore should not be removed.

Olive Trees

Not even his olive trees were spared as they were slit and no longer bear life. In 2007 when Hashem secured an Israeli court order to harvest his olives not even the presence of B'Tselem, EAPPI, the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH) and other Israeli and international observers managed to prevent the settlers from preventing the action from taking place. When Hashem fought back to document such attacks with the use of a camcorder, given to Hashem as part of the B'Tselem "shooting back" project, the settlers donned masked in order to hide their identity. Notwithstanding the impact that the physical and verbal violence has had on his home, Hashem remarked how, "the children will only sleep with the light on," such is the psychological damage that has been done. Speaking to us Hashem said that it is only with the presence of internationals such as EAPPI, TIPH and the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) that has helped reduce the number of attacks from settlers in recent months. 

Dual Nature of Laws

In international law the occupying forces must abide by certain laws in protecting the occupied people. Such laws remain in fantasy land and are nowhere to be found in Area H2 where the Israeli settlers are governed by civil law while Palestinians must endure military law.  When Hashem's father died last year Hashem had to carry his dead father out of H2 to bury him. Upon reaching Checkpoint 56, which controls access into and out of H2, Hashem was forced to lay his father on the ground and watch while the soldier searched his father with his machine gun. Such is the invasive nature of living under military laws that Hashem and the other residents of Tel Rumeida are not even allowed to have a kitchen knife inside his house. Should one be found during the monthly inspections Hashem would risk spending three years in prison for possession of an "illegal weapon." However in spite of this all Hashem speaks about the need for "hope in order to be strong" and the hope in a better life for his children's future.

As Israel is the occupying force it is bound by international law to enforce the law and protect the life, property and rights of all persons under its authority. Israel treats settlers and Palestinians differently subjecting them to a different set of rules. While Palestinians living under Israeli control are subjected to military law, settlers living in the same areas are afforded the protection of Israeli civil law. In failing to take a tough stance against settler violence and protecting Palestinians the IDF act as a complicit force more often than not acting in the interests of settlers. This systematic failure of law enforcement against Israeli settlers in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) undermines the rule of law in Israel, not only in the OPT but in the State of Israel as well. By failing to respond to settler's violent acts, the authorities are in effect sanctioning it. This complicity by the Israeli authorities is recognised by UN OCHA who stated in December 2008 that, "the root cause of the phenomenon (settlements and settler violence) is is Israel's decades-long policy of facilitating and encouraging the settling of its citizens inside occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), defined as transfer of population and prohibited by international humanitarian law (IHL)." The report goes onto say that, "the relevant Israeli authorities have failed to adequately enforce the rule of law when it comes to Israeli settlers carrying out acts of violence against Palestinians and their property in the West Bank."

What makes listening to Hashem's stories so powerful is that after explaining the nature of the attacks he shows us videos of such instances. As I sink into Hashem's couch witnessing the ferocity and mob-like nature of the attacks I am beginning to realise the depth of the situation facing many Palestinians who live here. The level of hatred the settlers living in Tel Rumeida show towards Palestinians is clearly evident and it leads to violence. It is right that the international community, through UN Security Council Resolutions and other statements has always considered the presence of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory as one of the foremost obstacles to achieving a lasting peace in Israel/Palestine in our time.