[247 every moment] Israel's largest deportation operation in decades

Written by: New Bremen

The Israeli Supreme Court (בית המשפט העליון) sided with the Israeli occupying forces after two decades of judicial wrangling. In its ruling, Israel's Supreme Court approved the Israeli occupation forces to expel more than 1,000 Palestinians living in the West Bank village of Masafiyata (Al Markaz) and build an army shooting range there. Human rights groups have criticized it as Israel's largest expulsion since 1967.

In a statement, the Israeli occupying forces said the ruling correctly reflected the history of the area, ruling that "the claimant is not a permanent resident of the area". In the 1980s, Israeli officials designated the area as a 918 range, which the military said was "important to the Israel Defense Forces" and that Palestinians living in the area were herders living in tents and were therefore not permanent residents of the area.

Along with the ongoing judicial proceedings, the Israeli occupying forces have denied the Palestinian residents in the area their applications for permission to build their houses and lay electrical wiring, while harassing residents by continuously demolishing their self-built houses and forcing them to move out. Israeli courts briefly allowed Palestinians to return during non-military training hours, a compromise that has since been rejected by residents.

Human rights groups have criticized that the real purpose of dividing the site into a shooting range was to clear the Palestinian population and clear the way for the subsequent construction of illegal Israeli settlements. Israel's Ha'aretz (הארץ) noted that in 1981 former Israeli Prime Minister and then Agriculture Minister Ariel Sharon (אריאל שרון) said in parliament, "It is important to slow the expansion of Arab villagers from the mountains. We are interested in expanding range there to keep these vital areas in our hands.”

In a statement, the EU urged Israel to stop the demolition. The UN Human Rights Council has warned that "forcible transfer of residents would constitute a serious violation of international humanitarian law". The U.S. State Department said "Israel should refrain from measures that would increase tensions, including expulsion".

Since 1947, Israel has continued to occupy Palestinian land. Resolution 242 of the United Nations Security Council in 1967, as well as resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and the General Assembly in subsequent years, have repeatedly emphasized that Israel's settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank are illegal occupations. In 2016, UN Security Council Resolution 2334 re-emphasized that "Israel's establishment of settlements in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, has no legal effect, is a flagrant violation of international law, seriously hinders the achievement of a two-state solution, and impedes A just, lasting and comprehensive peace".

But in May 2022 alone, 4,200 housing units have been added to illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. "This 52-year occupation is the longest and most serious criminal indictment in the modern history of the world," said the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Michael Lynk, in a 2019 report to the UN General Assembly. punishment."

(Editor in charge: New Bremen)