In West Bank, The Logic Of Annexation Supersedes The Rule Of Law

[Purveyor]

Last week, IDF forces removed, with hardly any noise, settlers from the lands of Muhammad Ibrahim ‘Ali Shabana, a resident of the village of Sinjil in the West Bank. The removal took place after the invasion by settlers Yonathan Rothschild and Yehuda Elitzur. Thus ended a long legal saga which proves, yet again, the incompetence of the Israeli authorities when it comes to defending the rights of Palestinians in Area C.

The story begins in 2003, at the height of the Second Intifada. Suicide bombers blow up in the streets of Israel without the IDF or the Shin Bet being able to stop them. At the same time, the IDF kills thousands of Palestinians. And the settlers, with close government support, use the media smoke screen provided by the greatest bloodletting in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since 1948 to erect a series of outposts. One of these is Givat Ha’Roeh, situated partly on the private Palestinian lands of the villagers of Sinjil.

Here events follow a familiar path: In 2004, the military commander issues a demarcation order for the area of the outpost but, lo and behold, fails to enforce its own edict. A Demarcation Order, a means to deal with the evacuation of unauthorized outposts by demarcating and forbidding entry into the area, is yet another tool the army uses very rarely (less than a dozen have been issued).

As a result of the lack of enforcement, the outpost – like many others – rapidly grows at the expense of more illegally-grabbed Palestinian land, with the authorities looking the other way. In 2006, a first petition demanding the enforcement of the demarcation order is tabled. The state, lying as usual, promises the court that it will enforce the order, and so the petition is dismissed. The order is – surprise! – not enforced, and a year later, in 2007, a new petition is filed. This time the state openly declares it has no intention of enforcing the orders, citing political considerations.

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http://972mag.com/in-west-bank-the-logic-of-annexation-supersedes-the-rule-of-law/77651/

[oberliner]

1. Yossi Gurvitz is back!

Here's a perfect illustration of what he is all about as a writer:

"The story begins in 2003, at the height of the Second Intifada. Suicide bombers blow up in the streets of Israel without the IDF or the Shin Bet being able to stop them. At the same time, the IDF kills thousands of Palestinians."

[azurnoir]

2. I have my doubts that Israel will 'annex' Area C in terms of a public announcement

lik they attempted to do with East Jerusalem, what will happen is what has been happening for the past decade at the least, continued home demolitions, denial of building permits to Palestinians, continued legalization of outposts, but it would take extraordinary circumstances for a publicly announced annexation to occur, as plausible deniability is what's important here