Israeli settlers’ attacks on the Palestinians, their properties and holy sites have dramatically increased and being exercised on a daily basis under full protection of the occupations forces.
Over the past months the wave of beatings, arson, vandalism and rock-throwing on Palestinians and arresting them have become regular phenomena along the settlers’ storming the courtyards of the Al Aqsa Mosque on a daily basis and under complete protection of the Israeli occupation forces.
No doubt the systematic incidents of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians are increasing in frequency and scope under full protection of Israeli security forces and are aimed at taking over Palestinian villages, farms adjacent to the Jewish settlements established on land captured by Israel in the 1967 war.
How can this not happen if all Israeli governments, since its establishment, have considered building settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories the greatest political and national achievement they can boast of. Israeli political parties achieve political gains in elections in light of their ability to present the most extreme policies against Palestinians and confiscation of their lands and properties.
The criterion of patriotism in Israel is measured by the number of settlements built and seizure of more Palestinian lands by the successive governments under various pretexts and invented justifications to show the state as if it had laws governing the relations of people subject to its military and security machinery rule.
This is in addition to the miserable situation of the tens of thousands of Palestinian prisoners kept behind bars for no reason, except practising their rights to defend themselves and being their basic human rights stipulated in international law including access to medical services have been blatantly violated.
But it is unfortunate to see the international community stand helpless when it comes to Israel and the practices of the settlers and its continuous violations. Human rights groups, the UN agencies and the Palestine authority have repeatedly denounced the Israeli repression and increased violation of international law and continuing lack of accountability as Israeli governments and the settlers enjoy impunity when they continuously commit crimes against Palestinian people and their properties.
Calls from different right groups and agencies for a crackdown on settler violence, and expansion of settlements in occupied territories are facing silence and deaf ears for impunity granted to the occupation forces. Under such situation the only option for the Palestinians is to exercise their legitimate right to self-defense and struggle to obtain their political rights and establish their independent state with East Jerusalem as capital.
