Green Light
“The US does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop.”
President Obama in Cairo, June 4, 2009
“Israel’s settlement moratorium has made a difference on the ground,
and improved the atmosphere for talks… We believe the moratorium should be extended.”
President Obama to UN General Assembly, Sept. 23, 2010
“Why America not support us, support freedom of Palestine people like Egypt people?”
Why we not matter?"
From conversation with Palestinian at Bethlehem Demonstration of Unity on February 23,2011
I arrived safely with way too much luggage on Saturday February 19 in Tel Aviv, a day after the US cast its veto vote on the UN resolution to stop settlements. This was a resolution that would have not only stopped the continuation of the settlements but have them labeled as “illegal.” Once identified as “illegal” Israel could then face possible sanctions.
The Obama administration asked President Abbas, President of Palestine, to withdraw the resolution saying that it would exasperate the peace talks and that the place to resolve this conflict is in direct talks. The administration said that a resolution risked “hardening the positions of both sides.” This statement contradicts both the long history of failed negotiations and the fact that there is international consensus against Israel’s illegal settlements and the human rights violations that result from them.
Amnesty International put it this way; “Israel’s policy of settling its civilians on occupied land violates the 4th Geneva Convention, and is considered a war crime according to the statue of the International Criminal Court.” In a letter titled If Not Now, When? to President Obama human rights organizations in occupied Palestine stated, “As the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated at the conclusion of her recent visit to Israel and the OPT: ‘The politics of conflict, peace and security are constantly leading to the downgrading, or setting aside, of the importance of binding international human rights and humanitarian law. International human rights law and international humanitarian law are not negotiable. [...] the idea that a partial or temporary halt [to settlement activity] is a valuable concession in the peace process, to be traded against something else, is turning the law on its head.’
Amnesty International put it this way; “Israel’s policy of settling its civilians on occupied land violates the 4th Geneva Convention, and is considered a war crime according to the statue of the International Criminal Court.” In a letter titled If Not Now, When? to President Obama human rights organizations in occupied Palestine stated, “As the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated at the conclusion of her recent visit to Israel and the OPT: ‘The politics of conflict, peace and security are constantly leading to the downgrading, or setting aside, of the importance of binding international human rights and humanitarian law. International human rights law and international humanitarian law are not negotiable. [...] the idea that a partial or temporary halt [to settlement activity] is a valuable concession in the peace process, to be traded against something else, is turning the law on its head.’
It’s hard to understand how we went from endorsing a settlement freeze, talking about freedom in Egypt to saying no, not now, not this way, not through international law. I am deeply saddened and ashamed by this veto. This was our moment to stand on the right side of history as others have said. It was our time to put flesh on our words, embody our values for freedom. Like the barrier wall that literally or figuratively shadows everything, I believe this vote will color my experience here. I am not here to explain or defend my country and its policies but I do feel an urgency to try and tell you what this vote means to the people I am accompanying, what more settlements will mean.
Settlements
Let me begin by giving a definition of what settlements are and how fast they have grown. For those of us from the United States we must disregard images of cowboys and pioneers setting out to claim uninhabited land and think more of the way our country was really founded and settled through the forcible removal of native people off their land. Think more Trail of Tears than wagon trains and Bonanza. The land here is and has been occupied by Palestinians for hundreds of years. The land that is being taken for settlements is land that was taken away from the Palestinians in 1948 and then again after the 1967 Six Day war. It is land that is being annexed little by little and often to larger cities like Jerusalem. Settlements can be part of an existing municipality, or land cultivated by settlers. Many of the settlements are heavily subsidized by the Israeli government or wealthy benefactors. In the name of security, settlements come with barriers and checkpoints and roads built for exclusive use by settlers only. Increase in settlements means increase in violence against Palestinians as settlers make claims to land and homes that they do not own. Increase in settlements means increase in military presence. Settlements infringe upon human rights because they means confiscation of land and water resources, home demolitions and evictions, harassment and violence, and lack of movement and access.
There are over 500,000 settlements in the West Bank. More than 300,000 live in 121 settlements and approximately 100 outposts. The majority of the settlements are in Area A. Bethlehem and Jerusalem are in are in Area A. In an EAPPI publication, A Tale of Illegal Israeli Settlements in the West Bank: An Unjust Settlement, it is said that "Israel has been waging a demographic war to settle these areas with as many Israelis as possible, to change the facts on the ground and ensure that the land will remain under Israeli control after a final agreement is reached."
To accomplish this task, people must be removed or forced out. Encircling whole villages until they are squeezed out is one way. Demolishing their homes and hoping they will leave is another. Over 24,000 homes have been demolished in the Palestinian Occupied Territory since 1967. In addition to getting up at 3:00 AM to monitor the Bethlehem Checkpoint to see that it is working effectively and people are not being unfairly detained, I will be visiting villages and families who are in the process of being removed. I will be accompanying children at checkpoints to assure their safety and dignity. And I most likely will be a witness to house demolitions.
Settlements
Let me begin by giving a definition of what settlements are and how fast they have grown. For those of us from the United States we must disregard images of cowboys and pioneers setting out to claim uninhabited land and think more of the way our country was really founded and settled through the forcible removal of native people off their land. Think more Trail of Tears than wagon trains and Bonanza. The land here is and has been occupied by Palestinians for hundreds of years. The land that is being taken for settlements is land that was taken away from the Palestinians in 1948 and then again after the 1967 Six Day war. It is land that is being annexed little by little and often to larger cities like Jerusalem. Settlements can be part of an existing municipality, or land cultivated by settlers. Many of the settlements are heavily subsidized by the Israeli government or wealthy benefactors. In the name of security, settlements come with barriers and checkpoints and roads built for exclusive use by settlers only. Increase in settlements means increase in violence against Palestinians as settlers make claims to land and homes that they do not own. Increase in settlements means increase in military presence. Settlements infringe upon human rights because they means confiscation of land and water resources, home demolitions and evictions, harassment and violence, and lack of movement and access.
There are over 500,000 settlements in the West Bank. More than 300,000 live in 121 settlements and approximately 100 outposts. The majority of the settlements are in Area A. Bethlehem and Jerusalem are in are in Area A. In an EAPPI publication, A Tale of Illegal Israeli Settlements in the West Bank: An Unjust Settlement, it is said that "Israel has been waging a demographic war to settle these areas with as many Israelis as possible, to change the facts on the ground and ensure that the land will remain under Israeli control after a final agreement is reached."
To accomplish this task, people must be removed or forced out. Encircling whole villages until they are squeezed out is one way. Demolishing their homes and hoping they will leave is another. Over 24,000 homes have been demolished in the Palestinian Occupied Territory since 1967. In addition to getting up at 3:00 AM to monitor the Bethlehem Checkpoint to see that it is working effectively and people are not being unfairly detained, I will be visiting villages and families who are in the process of being removed. I will be accompanying children at checkpoints to assure their safety and dignity. And I most likely will be a witness to house demolitions.
. It is hard to be here in the land of Jesus’ birth and resurrection in the time of blossoming almond trees and have to account to others for my country’s policies. It is hard to sit with a woman who has had her house demolished in a town that is being forced out of existence because the land is needed for more settlements. The veto means that this illegal confiscation of land or "land grab" will be allowed to continue.
Refusing to intervene on the world level and to force the Palestinians to return to talks on Israel’s terms sends a dangerous signal. Some would say it signals a green light for Israel to continue its illegal settlements without fear of reprisal. For Palestinians it sends the signal that the US is not a trusted or impartial negotiator for peace. Or as the young man asked at the demonstration, "Why we not care what happens to the Palestinian people?"
The Middle East is imploding. Long time dictators are toppling and people are taking to the streets to demand their rights. It is both exhilarating and a bit scary as it means that what once was will not necessarily be and what will come next is uncertain. The hope is that there might be a nonviolent uprising to demand change.
The day I arrived nearly 3,000 people rallied in Ramallah to express their outrage against the US’s veto. On February 23 in Bethlehem another 2,000 or more took to the streets in support of President Abbas' firm stand against settlements and the US. Organizers of this demonstration said this was a unity demonstration, meaning that leaders from both parties, Hamas and Fath, were united in their support of the urgency to stop the settlements and their President’s refusal to back-down under US pressure to withdraw the resolution. Our veto and Abbas' resistance is bringing the political parties together.
This is not the first time I have been part of a demonstration as many of my readers know, but it is the first time for me to be abroad in the position of both a peacekeeper and a citizen of the country people are demonstrating against. Part of our work as ecumenical accompaniers is to go to demonstrations. What was unique about the Bethlehem demonstration, I was told, was that there were no Israeli soldiers. There were no rocks thrown or tear gas released though local news reported violence did errupt at the check point later in the day. In the place where the Prince of Peace was born, we accompanied an occupied people expressing their right to assemble and protest against injustice, and stand in unity behind their elected President.
As I wrestle with my country’s policies and decisions on the one hand and how to accompany people who are affected by those decisions, I call upon you back home to consider what you can do for peace here in the Middle East. Please consider signing the petition linked here for Peace in the Middle East (http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5575/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5581).
A Faithful Response
Though I am ashamed by my country's veto, I am proud of the World Council of Churches and the United Church of Christ and their bold support of the UN Resolution. Their witness was bold and prophetic even if it was not heard. To end the occupation and bring forth a just peace, UN resolutions and international law must be obeyed. Palestinians have the right to self determination. Settlements and their expansion are illegal and block the way for peace. The way to peace is peace.
Rev. Loren McGrail
Accompanier in Bethlehem
Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI)
World council of Churches (WCC)
Website: www.eappi.org
Cell phone: 054 815 7613
Landline: 011 972 02 274-7558
Email: lorenmcgrail@gmail.com
http://imeu.net/news/article0020542.shtml for article from Jeff Halper on the significance of the US Veto
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