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Zionism on the Upper East Side

By Patrick Lawrence | Consortium News | December 3, 2025

We watch in horror from afar as the Zionist terror state continues its genocide against the people of Gaza and escalates its slower-motion, lower-technology genocide against the 3 million Palestinians who reside in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, otherwise known as the Occupied Territories — illegally occupied, of course.

As a few Israeli commentators have pointed out — those few who guard their integrity— the operative principle here is the limitless impunity the Western powers have long granted “the Jewish state.”

This is the outcome, they say, when a people given to a culture of vengeance are told they will never suffer consequences however barbaric their conduct toward others, however many laws they break, however many their assassinations, however many their torture victims, however many exploding telephones they plant among civilian populations, etc.

Maybe we need no reminders, maybe we do, that this presumption of impunity is not bound by sovereign borders and is not limited to the cowardly, condemnable savagery of apartheid Israel in Gaza and the West Bank. But we had one last week, and it is well we consider it carefully.

Zohran Mamdani, the principled social democrat who is New York’s mayor-elect, is now under attack from Zionist Americans who insist Zionist Americans are above the law — American law and international law. You may look well on Mamdani and you may not, but as he is besieged by these objectionable people, so are we all.

This story begins on Wednesday, Nov. 19, at Park East Synagogue, a grand edifice that sits on East 67th Street between Third and Lexington Avenues in the Lenox Hill section of Manhattan.

Park East has been serving Modern Orthodox Jews since 1890. Its congregation, to be noted, is comprised of the great and good of the Upper East Side. These are observant but assimilated Jews, thoroughly plugged into, let’s say, secular public space.

Except.

Two Wednesdays back Park East hosted an organization dedicated to encouraging Jews to “make Aliyah,” the Hebrew term for emigrating to “the Promised Land.” O.K., you cannot find anything legally wrong in this, although it is unambiguously a moral wrong in that it expresses support for a genocidal state.

But let us set aside the moral question for now. The organization Park East sponsored, Nefesh B’Nefesh, also assists American Jews who wish to emigrate to Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories. This is a legal matter and as such not inconsequential.

American Settlers

Statistics on the settler population in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are hard to nail down (and I can easily imagine why). The Times of Israel reported eight years ago that some 60,000 Americans were among the Jewish settlers in the West Bank.

That was roughly 15 percent of the settler population then — not counting the considerable number residing in East Jerusalem. We have no precise figures now, but these populations — settlers and Americans among the settlers — are both higher.

As has been well-reported, and well-recorded in several documentaries, the Americans among the West Bank settlers are frequently the most violent in their incessant attacks on Palestinians. They have also been at times the most readily inclined to murder.

There is the infamous case of Baruch Goldstein, a freakshow Zionist from Brooklyn who killed 29 Palestinians when he attacked the Ibrahimi Mosque (tomb of Abraham and other patriarchs) in Hebron in 1994. Goldstein was not singular: He was and remains exemplary — and a hero among some Zionists. National Security Minister Ben Givr had a picture of Goldstein on his living room wall until 2020.

I cannot name the precise statutes applicable here, but they must be several. Open and shut, just the facts, Ma’am, Nefesh B’Nefesh is an accomplice to the settler movement.

Most immediately significant in the Park East case, Nefesh B’Nefesh — this translates as “soul to soul,” and who knows what that is all about — is directly implicated in the settlers’ breach of international law given that all the settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are illegal according to said law.

There was no claiming surprise that blustery Nov. 19th when a group of roughly 200 vociferous demonstrators gathered in front of Park East to protest the promotional seminar Nefesh B’Nefesh was running that day.

“Death to the IDF” was among the tamer of various chants; others encouraged violence against settlers. “It is our duty,” one leader of the demonstration said measuredly to those assembled, “to make them think twice before holding these events.”

Inside the Park East building, people indirectly but unmistakably promoting violence against Palestinians, land theft and all the rest. And on East 67th Street, righteous indignation, anger in behalf of a persecuted people, some violent rhetoric, but no violence.

It was obvious the mayor-elect would have to intervene. The event itself warranted this, and various Zionist constituencies, as well-reported before and since Mamdani’s election, have been attacking him as a radical jihadist, an anti–Semite and who knows what else, so attempting to poison his relations with New York’s Jewish community.

Here is the ever-poised Mamdani’s day-after statement, his first on the incident:

“The mayor-elect has discouraged the use of language used at last night’s protest and will continue to do so. He believes every New Yorker should be free to enter a house of worship without intimidation and that these sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law.”

A few days later, storms of protest from Zionist quarters having instantly erupted, Mamdani sent this statement to The New York Times:

“We will protect New Yorkers’ First Amendment rights while making clear that nothing can justify language calling for ‘death to’ anyone. It is unacceptable, full stop.”

I find these statements a little in the way of Solomon in their discernment, in Mamdani’s determination not to tilt his hand and to articulate the core truth of the matter:

The more extreme language out on East 67th Street was wrong so far as it intimidated synagogue goers, but the principle of free speech is nonetheless to be honored; those encouraging breaches of international law are wrong, and a synagogue should not be used to promote illegalities.

‘A Hateful Mob’

Maybe what has come back at Mamdani in the course of all this was predictable, more-of-the-same babble. “Mob” was the de rigueur term among those responding to the mayor-elect’s response.

The demonstrators were “a hateful mob of anti–Israel protesters,” the New York Post reported, and it got worse from there. Mamdani sided with “an anti–Semitic mob,” eJP, or eJewishphilanthropy.com, declared. “Last week,” this outfit continued, “Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani failed the first test of his promise to protect all New Yorkers.”

And from William Daroff, the chief exec of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations: “We are still judging him, and I’d say that at the moment he’s got a failing grade.”

They sitteth in judgment, you see.

O.K., we have heard all this before in one or another context, so has Mamdani. He is surely in for more of same once he assumes office Jan. 1. But we ought not miss the very much larger matters raised by the Park East incident.

There is the First Amendment question, as Mamdani correctly noted, and there are the legal questions as pencil-sketched above. These are related at the not-too-distant horizon.

People speaking for Nefesh B’Nefesh now deny they promote emigration to West Bank settlements — which, as the group’s website attests, is simply not true. It advertises Gush Etzion, an expanding sprawl of 22–and-counting settlements south of Jerusalem, Ma`ale Adumim, whose location makes it key to the Israelis final takeover of the West Bank, and various others.

“Teaching about Aliyah and Zionism belongs in that space”: This is the aforementioned William Daroff. And from eJP again: “Mamdani condemned the synagogue’s choice of programming.”

Choice of programming.

You see what is going on here. Park East and Nefesh B’Nefesh are encouraging Americans to breach international law. And absolutely to a one, those defending the synagogue and the event-organizer do so by pretending this is not what is most pithily at issue.

“We are deeply concerned by, and firmly condemn, the violent rhetoric and aggressive behavior that took place outside of the Park East Synagogue,” Nefesh B’Nefesh now declares on its website. Violent rhetoric and aggressive behavior on East 67th Street but not in the West Bank or in East Jerusalem.

To go straight to the point, this is another assertion of Zionist impunity. And we should understand what has lately transpired in New York as a very, very direct extension of the impunity that encourages and also protects the Israeli terror machine in Gaza and the West Bank. Impunity: It is a blight under which Palestinians suffer, and none of us is immune to it.

To put this another way, we witness an especially insidious case of chutzpah, the dangers of which I have considered elsewhere. You have your laws, the world has its, and we will ignore them before your eyes (and ostracize you as an anti–Semite if you object). This, in a sentence, is what Zionists now insist we must accept.

Full article

December 5, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation, War Crimes | , , , , | Leave a comment

Four foreign activists injured by illegal Israeli settlers’ attack in occupied West Bank

Illegal settlers attack Palestinian farmers, journalists and foreign activists in Beita town of Nablus, West Bank on November 8, 2025. [Nedal Eshtayah – Anadolu Agency]
MEMO | November 30, 2025

The Israeli army launched a large-scale arrest campaign in the occupied West Bank as illegal settlers attacked foreign activists and Palestinians on Sunday, according to local sources, Anadolu reports.

Three Italian and one Canadian activists were injured by illegal Israeli settlers in Ein ad-Duyuk village of Jericho in the central West Bank, local sources told Anadolu.

The activists were hospitalized, as three of them sustained moderate injuries and the fourth was critically wounded.

Illegal settlers stormed a house in a Bedouin community where the foreign activists have been residing in solidarity with Palestinian residents for a few days, and assaulted them.

The attackers also attempted to steal the activists’ passports, phones, and belongings, in addition to property from the house, the sources said.

According to the official news agency Wafa, illegal Israeli settlers destroyed four vehicles belonging to Palestinians in eastern Salfit in the central West Bank.

A group of illegal Israeli settlers also raided the al-Masoudieh area in Nablus, vandalizing Palestinians’ properties.

According to the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, an official body, illegal Israeli settlers have carried out 766 attacks against Palestinians and their property in the occupied West Bank in October only.

Meanwhile, Israeli army forces detained four people in two Nablus villages on Sunday. One of the detainees was injured, the official news agency Wafa said, without providing more details on his condition.

Israeli army forces fired tear gas canisters towards locals in the al-Lubban al-Sharqiya town of Nablus, causing several people to suffer from suffocation.

Three people were detained in Ramallah during an Israeli army raid, while a young Palestinian was detained after being beaten by the soldiers in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of the occupied East Jerusalem.

Five others, including two ex-prisoners, were arrested in Bethlehem, in the southern West Bank, after their houses were searched by the Israeli forces. According to Palestinian figures, at least 55 Palestinians were detained by Israeli forces in military raids in the West Bank since Saturday.

In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

November 30, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Settler attacks intensify as Palestinians face systematic displacement

Al Mayadeen | November 24, 2025

Abdullah Awad, speaking to the Financial Times, describes a reality Palestinians across the occupied West Bank know too well: armed Israeli settlers storming their land with the aim of driving them out. The attack on his family farm near Turmus Ayya, carried out by about 15 masked settlers, left his children screaming as the group smashed their home and equipment.

“The settlers had axelike sticks with nails attached. So, they intended to injure us badly or kill us. Thank God we were awake when they came, so we could move away a bit,” he said. The assault followed years of harassment, but Awad says the violence has intensified since the war on Gaza began: “There were many assaults. This was not the first, and won’t be the last . . . but since the start of the war [in Gaza], they have become more violent. The situation has changed.”

Escalating campaign of settler aggression

Across the West Bank, Palestinians are facing an orchestrated campaign to terrorize communities and seize land. Settlers have attacked farmers, burned property, and raided villages from the northern hills to the southern plains. Videos of settlers beating Palestinians, including one incident in which a masked settler clubbed a woman unconscious, reflect a growing sense of impunity.

Political analyst Ibrahim Dalalsha told FT the pattern is unmistakable, “The settlers are totally emboldened, and the attacks are spreading, in the north, centre and south [of the West Bank]… This time they are really going deep inside.”

Targeting the olive harvest, the backbone of Palestinian rural life

The olive harvest, which sustains thousands of Palestinian families, has become an annual target for settler groups seeking to disrupt livelihoods and claim new territory. This season, attacks have soared. Settlers have torched a mosque in Deir Istiya, burned cars and homes near Beit Lahm, and even stormed an industrial area close to Beit Lid.

According to UN OCHA figures, more than 260 settler assaults resulting in injuries or property destruction were recorded in October, the highest monthly total since monitoring began nearly two decades ago.

Israeli condemnations ring hollow as impunity deepens

Israeli leaders have issued belated statements condemning settler actions, but on the ground, Palestinians say nothing has changed. The army dismantled a single illegal outpost, an exception so rare it drew international attention, while settlers continue attacking communities without consequence.

The settlers who burned the Deir Istiya mosque left graffiti stating: “We’re not afraid of Avi Bluth.”
Their message was aimed at the Israeli general responsible for West Bank operations, a taunt conveying how little fear violent settlers have of the regime’s security forces.

Rights group Yesh Din reports that 94% of settler violence cases were closed without charges in the 18 years before the war on Gaza. Palestinian officials say the situation has only worsened, with the military frequently standing aside, or acting in coordination with settlers during attacks.

Dalalsha said, “In the past, when there were attacks, there were investigations. Palestinians viewed these as a sham. But at least there was a process. These days, we do not hear of anything.”

Forced displacement as policy

Settlement expansion, illegal under international law, has accelerated at a pace Palestinian rights groups describe as intentional and strategic. Reports indicate that since the start of the war on Gaza in 2023, 44 Palestinian communities have been forcibly pushed from their lands through settler assaults combined with military restrictions.

Yair Dvir of B’Tselem put it bluntly, “When you look at what is happening, there is an order to [the attacks] . . . It’s not just individuals and settlers. They are backed by the Israeli system. There is a very clear goal, which is to forcibly displace the Palestinians and force them into the big cities.”

Daily terror in towns under siege

In Sinjil, a town outside Ramallah, a newly built settler outpost has triggered relentless harassment for Palestinians. Mayor Moataz Tawafsha told the FT: “There is no day without an attack. They steal tractors, burn stuff that belongs to the farmers, prevent farmers from reaching their land. Every day. They never stop.”

Near Turmus Ayya, settlers have placed a metal cabin and tent on a Palestinian building left half-finished and raised an Israeli flag above it, a symbolic claim over land that locals have farmed for generations. The new presence has cut Palestinians off from hundreds of hectares of farmland, including thousands of olive trees.

The mayor, Lafi Adeeb Shalabi, says the aim is clear, “They are trying to destroy the history of Palestine . . . This land belonged to our families, to our great great-grandfathers,” he said. “And when we try to defend it, they say we are terrorists.”

A systematic drive to empty Palestinian land

Testimonies from across the West Bank point to a coordinated effort to dispossess Palestinian communities: settlers advancing deeper into Palestinian areas, soldiers restricting movement, homes and farms burned, and entire communities uprooted.

What was once seasonal harassment has evolved into a sustained campaign of displacement.

November 24, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Full Spectrum Dominance | , , , , | Leave a comment

Airbnb sued in France for rentals in occupied West Bank

MEMO | November 4, 2025

The Association of Jurists for the Respect of International Law (JURDI) has sued Airbnb in France for listing properties in Palestinian territories occupied by Israel in the West Bank, the BFMTV broadcaster said Tuesday, Anadolu reports.

JURDI, a non-profit group in France that advocates for international law regarding the Israeli-Palestine conflict, accuses Airbnb of supporting war crimes by listing the properties in occupied territories in the West Bank. It is asking the court to order the company to remove listings in Israeli settlements.

“By offering these accommodations, Airbnb contributes to the normalization and perpetuation of the colonial regime, by providing financial resources to settlers and legitimizing their presence,” JURDI said in its lawsuit, excerpts of which were seen by BFMTV.

Attorney Helene Massin-Trachez, who is leading the case, said French law prohibits offering contracts that violate public order, arguing that Airbnb was doing exactly that by promoting unlawful rental agreements to clients based in France.

A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Jan. 13, and if the court rules in JURDI’s favor, Airbnb will have eight days to comply before facing a €5,000 ($5,740) fine for each day of delay.

The company defended its actions when contacted by BFMTV, denying it profits from the international situation and vowed to remain committed to addressing each of the situations “with the greatest care.”

The French Human Rights League (LDH) filed a complaint against Airbnb and Booking.com last month for listing properties in Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories.

The complaint accuses those companies of complicity and aggravated concealment of war crimes, underlining that the platforms promote “occupation tourism” by offering listings in Israeli settlements.

November 4, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation, Solidarity and Activism | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Israel Issues Demolition Orders to Clear Path for Colonial Road

IMEMC | October 24, 2025

Israeli occupation authorities issued demolition orders on Thursday targeting large industrial structures at the entrance of Anata, northeast of occupied Jerusalem in the West Bank.

According to Jerusalem Governorate advisor Marouf Al-Refa’ey, Israeli forces stormed the town’s entrance and distributed demolition notices affecting metal workshops, furniture factories, and storage units.

He stated that the move is part of a long-standing plan to construct a road, traffic circle, and bridge connecting the Anata junction to the Hizma military roadblock.

This infrastructure is linked to the so-called “Greater Jerusalem” scheme and the colonial E1 plan.

Al-Refa’ey emphasized that Israeli authorities are systematically eliminating Palestinian presence along the path of this project. Demolitions in the area have been repeatedly carried out under various pretexts, including lack of permits or proximity to the illegal separation wall.

He warned that the developments at Anata’s entrance and along Az-Za’ayyem Road are part of a broader plan to establish a segregated road system. The goal is to bar Palestinians from using Abu George Road, which leads to the Jerusalem–Jericho highway and is reserved exclusively for illegal paramilitary Israeli colonizers.

In contrast, the Anata/Az-Za’ayyem entrance would be restricted to Palestinian traffic only, connecting Anata, Az-Za’ayyem, and the Hizma checkpoint roundabout.

October 24, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation | , , , | Leave a comment

Soldiers, Settlers Injure 20 Palestinians in Beita

International Solidarity Movement | October 11, 2025

October 10 was the opening of the Zaytoun2025 olive harvest campaign. Here’s a wrap-up of the events:

Beita, South Nablus

About one hundred farmers joined by some 60 Palestinian and solidarity activists, were attacked by armed Israeli citizens and soldiers, near a recently established Israeli settlement in the Jabal Qamas area. The soldiers both ignored the attacks on the farmers and used violence themselves to try and repel the harvesters from their lands, and ignored the assault of Palestinians by the Israeli civilians, and therefore enabling them. The soldiers used tear-gas concussion grenades and physical violence, while the Israeli civilians attacked harvesters with baton blows, stone throwing and by shooting live ammunition.

  • 20 injuries were recorded. 11 of the injured Palestinians were evacuated to the Rafidia hospital in Nablus. In addition, one solidarity activist was evacuated to the Belinson hospital after Israeli civilians assaulted her with batons and broke her arm.
  • One of the Palestinians suffered a gunshot wound after being shot by an Israeli civilian.
  • Three of those injured are journalists: Wahaj Bani Mufleh, Saja al-Alami and Jaafar Astaya, whose car is one of those torched.
  • Eight cars were torched by the Israeli civilians.
  • An ambulance was attacked and flipped over. An attempt to torch it as well was foiled by Palestinians who came to the crew’s rescue.

Jorish and Aqraba, South-East Nablus

Israeli civilians armed with batons prevented farmers from the two villages accompanied by solidarity activists from accessing their lands in the Wad Issa agricultural area.

Duma, Sout-East Nablus

Israeli soldiers prevented farmers from harvesting their olives in the Houma and Khallet al-Hassad areas, asserting access to these lands requires security coordination with Israeli authorities. The Houma area is in Area B.

Yanoun, East Nablus

Israeli civilians expelled farmers and stole their harvested olives.

Deir Istia, North Salfeet

Israeli civilians harassed harvesters in an attempt to prevent them from accessing their lands near the Yaqir settlement.

Kufer Thulth, East Qalqilya

Settlers attacked harvesters and shepherds, killing several goats.

Farata, East Qalqilya

Israeli civilians shot at farmers harvesting olive with live fire in the presence of Israeli soldiers, who did not intervene. Both the soldiers and Israeli civilians then continued to raid the village, stop residents in the street and question them.

Kobar, North Ramallah

Israeli forces arrested harvesters in their lands near the village.

October 11, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation | , , , , , | Leave a comment

US deploys abortion law against Israel critics who picketed synagogue

RT | October 1, 2025

The US Justice Department has filed a civil lawsuit against several anti-Israeli protesters, using a law historically applied to protect women entering abortion clinics from pro-life demonstrators.

The complaint, filed on Monday by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, could mark the first of more cases to come, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said at a press conference. She argued that the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) was previously “weaponized” against pro-life activists, while those disrupting religious practices were not targeted.

The case stems from a November 2024 incident in West Orange, New Jersey. Congregation Ohr Torah synagogue was hosting a real estate fair promoting the sale of homes in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. The DOJ maintains that it was “a religious event centered on the Jewish obligation to live in the Land of Israel.”

Around 50 pro-Palestinian demonstrators staged a protest outside, which Dhillon characterized as a “mob.” An altercation broke out involving organizer Moshe Glick and his associate, David Silberberg. The complaint claims that one protester blasted a vuvuzela horn inches from Glick’s ear, an action prosecutors say amounted to a “physical attack” due to potential hearing damage.

Local media reported in February that Glick and Silberberg were charged in connection with the brawl after Glick allegedly pepper-sprayed a protester and struck his head with a metal flashlight. The DOJ complaint, however, described these actions as self-defense. One of the named defendants is accused of choking Silberberg and tackling him to the ground.

The fair was one of several US events promoting settlement property sales that drew pro-Palestinian protests as Israel pressed its military operation in Gaza. Jewish settlements in occupied territories are considered illegal under international law and remain a flashpoint in the broader Middle East conflict.

Enforcement of the FACE Act was reportedly scaled back early in US President Donald Trump’s term in office. In June, the House Judiciary Committee considered a bill introduced this year by Representative Chip Roy to repeal the measure entirely.

October 2, 2025 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Full Spectrum Dominance | , , , | Leave a comment

UN blacklist expands to 158 firms over Israeli settlement ties

Al Mayadeen | September 27, 2025

The United Nations has expanded its blacklist of companies linked to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, adding 68 firms from 11 countries accused of contributing to violations of Palestinian human rights.

The updated “database of companies,” released Friday by the UN human rights office, now includes 158 businesses, most of them Israeli. Others are headquartered in the United States, Canada, China, Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

The list highlights firms engaged in activities deemed supportive of settlement expansion, which much of the international community considers illegal under international law. These include suppliers of construction materials, heavy equipment vendors, and providers of financial, security, and travel services.

Among the latest additions are German building materials giant Heidelberg Materials, Portuguese rail systems provider Steconfer, and Spanish engineering firm Ineco. US-based Expedia Group, Booking Holdings Inc., and Airbnb, Inc. also remain on the list.

First update since 2023

While 68 new companies were named, seven were removed following a UN review of 215 enterprises. The delisted firms include French transport company Alstom and online travel agencies eDreams (Spain) and Opodo (Britain).

“Businesses working in contexts of conflict have a due diligence responsibility to ensure their activities do not contribute to human rights abuses,” said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN human rights office. “We call on businesses to take appropriate action to address the adverse human rights impacts of their activities.”

Shamdasani added that governments also bear responsibility for ensuring that corporations under their jurisdiction are not complicit in rights violations.

The newly flagged companies are concentrated in industries such as construction, real estate, mining, and quarrying. Each was notified of its inclusion and granted the right of reply.

This marks the first update to the database since 2023, when 97 companies were listed, down from 112 in the original 2020 publication. Fifteen firms, including US food conglomerate General Mills, were removed during that previous revision.

September 27, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation | , , | Leave a comment

Settler arson attack on vital West Bank agricultural hub is blow to Palestinian food security

International Solidarity Movement – Palestine | September 23, 2025

The Mishtil Al-Junaidy Al-Hadith plant nursery in Deir Sharaf, a major West Bank seed distributor and the heart of the region’s agriculture, was set on fire by illegal Israeli settlers on 8 September 2025, costing the owners over three million shekels and seriously damaging the already fragile Palestinian food system.

The footage captured by security cameras shows seven masked settlers descending on the nursery at 8pm to destroy the agricultural hub. Using diesel fuel, the settlers set fire to several buildings, stole supplies, and broke the windows of the main office, destroying seeds, computers, and most importantly, invaluable data centers holding information on agricultural practices in the region, which cannot be retrieved.

The fire department was informed immediately, but the Israeli authorities didn’t permit the firemen to reach the site for 45 minutes, which uninterrupted would only be a ten minute drive from the station in nearby Nablus. The attack was caught on camera, and the Israeli military, Shin Bet and Civil administration all arrived, but – just like past attacks – no updates on the investigation have been provided and no arrests have been made.

Sameer Al Junaidy, one of the four Al Junaidy brothers who owns and runs the nursery, says he doesn’t hire security because he would rather take damage to the property than put a Palestinian’s life at risk. Unarmed guards would be powerless against armed settlers, who regularly assault and murder local Palestinians.
The nursery is situated next to the illegal Shavei Shomron settlement, one of the West Bank’s first illegal settlements built in 1977 on land seized from Deir Sharaf and An-Naqura. Just before October 7, 2023, illegal settlers established an outpost on the other side of the nursery and have been intent on building a road that goes through it to connect them.

Since then, settlers have attacked the nursery at least five times. Recently, they set fire to bulldozers, a truck, and a forklift owned by the nursery. Settlers have also burned down olive trees, destroyed water pipes, and attacked Palestinians in neighboring communities. Footage from previous attacks that contains the assailants’ faces captured by Al Junaidy has been handed over to police, but no arrests were ever made.

Al Junaidy says that the Israeli Civil Administration told him that they understand how important the center is to West Bank agriculture and communities but they said: “There are two policies on the ground”, and some in the Israeli government want to see the assailants go unpunished. The nursery is also adjacent to Kedumin, the settlement where Israeli far-right Finance Minister Benzamar Smotrich lives, which is in the same council of settlements as Shavei Shomron.

The attack is a devasting blow to an already precarious food system in the besieged territory, bound to raise costs for local farmers who buy their seeds through the company. The nursery produces 80% of the West Bank’s olive tree saplings and all of its almond tree saplings, two crops central to Palestinian food security.

The destruction of over forty years of data could have far reaching impacts on agriculture across the West Bank. The data which has been lost included detailed information on how to best cultivate their thousands of seeds, meaning without this data, farmers may not know the ideal way to cultivate the crops. It is also used by agricultural engineering students at universities across Palestine.

Assaults on the West Bank’s economy and food systems through attacks like this one on the Al Junaidy Nursery are just one tactic in the occupiers’ overall project to ethnically cleanse the territory of all of its Palestinian inhabitants by disconnecting them from their land, their traditions, and the resources they need to survive.

September 23, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Israeli court issues mass eviction orders against Palestinians in Jerusalem’s Silwan neighborhood

Palestinian Information Center – September 22, 2025

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM – Israeli police forces have ordered dozens of Palestinian families in the Baten al-Hawa area of Silwan, south of the al-Aqsa Mosque, in Occupied Jerusalem to evacuate their homes, threatening the displacement of nearly 300 people in favor of settler groups.

Jerusalemite sources said on Monday that residents of 37 apartments now face forced eviction under a settlement scheme pushed by the “Ateret Cohanim” association, which claims ownership of five dunums and 200 square meters of land in Baten al-Hawa, based on allegations dating back to 1881.

The plan targets between 30 and 35 residential buildings housing 80 families, roughly 600 people, who have lived in the neighborhood for decades with official documentation proving residency.

Zuheir Rajabi, head of the Baten al-Hawa neighborhood committee in Silwan, said 250 residents living in 26 homes received new eviction orders on Sunday from the Israeli central court, aimed at seizing their properties in favor of settlers.

He noted that an additional 11 apartments in three adjacent buildings belonging to the Rajabi families, Yaqub, Nidal, and Fathi, are now under immediate threat, putting about 60 people at risk.

Rajabi condemned the measures as “forced displacement and ethnic cleansing of Jerusalemites to replace them with settlers,” vowing that residents “will remain steadfast in their homes until the very last moment.”

The Basbus family also received eviction notices for their homes, which shelter 30 people in Baten al-Hawa.

Family member Bilal Basbus said they have been engaged in a “battle for existence” for years against demolition and eviction orders targeting their homes overlooking the al-Aqsa Mosque.

He stressed that despite enormous challenges, the family refuses to abandon their homes or comply with occupation orders.

These latest eviction notices are part of a wider Judaization campaign aimed at driving Palestinians out of Jerusalem to make way for settlement groups.

Notably, the Basbus family’s grandparents were expelled from the village of al-Dawayima in 1948 by Zionist militias, and today, settler organizations are pursuing their descendants to displace them once again from their homes in Silwan.

September 22, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , | Leave a comment

URGENT: A family standing against Israeli army and settler violence, and imminent displacement in the Jordan Valley

International Solidarity Movement – Palestine | September 21, 2025

In the hills of the northern Jordan Valley, one Palestinian family is facing the threat of being displaced from their land. On September 20, the Israeli army issued them a final eviction order — threatening to destroy their tents, farming shelters, animals, and everything they depend on for survival.

This family is the last to remain in their community. Others have already been forced to leave in recent years by Israeli colonisers, who confiscated or destroyed their homes and belongings. Their struggle shows how army actions and settler violence combine to push Palestinians from their land.

Palestinian families’ daily life under threat

The family makes a living from shepherding. With more than 200 sheep and goats, their livelihood depends on access to open grazing. Today, this way of life is nearly impossible. Settlers attack shepherds, block grazing land, and steal animals. To keep their herds alive, the family must now buy fodder, which is costly and reduces the quality of the products they sell.

Two weeks ago, settlers poisoned the family’s water supply. Like all Palestinians in the Jordan Valley, they are not connected to the water network and depend on cisterns. Without safe water, their health and their animals’ survival are in danger. They also live without electricity, relying only on solar panels for minimal power.

In recent weeks, the army has raided the land and their home several times. Soldiers ordered demolitions of shelters, claiming the area is a “military zone.” Family members have been injured multiple times during these raids.

Meanwhile, settlers are expanding, with new outposts being built nearby and existing settlements growing closer. This increases the pressure on the family to leave.

Background on Jordan Valley

The northern Jordan Valley lies in Area C, which makes up over 60% of the occupied West Bank and remains under full Israeli military control. Israel imposes severe restrictions on Palestinians living there on building, farming, and access to basic services. The army often declares Palestinian areas as “firing zones” or “closed military zones,” using these designations to demolish homes, stop grazing, and force families to move. In practice, this clears space for settlements while displacing Palestinians.

For decades, Israel has uprooted entire communities across the Jordan Valley under these policies. Where once there were villages with families, schools, and farmland, only scattered households remain.

What can you do?

Contact your governments and demand they put pressure on Israel to stop its ethnic cleansing campaign in the Jordan Valley and elsewhere. They must:

1 Cancel the eviction order against the families immediately.
2 Stop settler violence such as poisoning, theft, intimidation, and ensure protection of Palestinian civilians as required under international law.
3 End the use of “military zones” as a pretext for displacement
4 Provide access to basic rights: water, electricity, education, and security.

International communities, media, and civil society — it’s time to raise awareness and take action.

This is not only about one family. It is part of a larger effort to remove Palestinians from the Jordan Valley and Area C of the West Bank. This family now stands almost alone, holding on to their land and way of life. If they are displaced, another piece of Palestinian presence in the Jordan Valley will be erased.

Their story must be told and shared. The world needs to see what is happening and act before yet another community disappears.

September 21, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Solidarity and Activism | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Belgium announces sanctions against Israel

RT | September 2, 2025

Belgium will recognize Palestinian statehood and impose sanctions on Israel over its war in Gaza, the country’s Foreign Ministry has announced.

The Western European country, which hosts the headquarters of both the EU and NATO, unveiled the measures on Tuesday as pressure grows on Israel to reach a ceasefire with Hamas and allow more humanitarian aid into the besieged Palestinian enclave.

In light of the “humanitarian tragedy in Gaza,” Belgium has decided to “increase pressure on the Israeli government and Hamas terrorists,” Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot wrote on X. “This is not about punishing the Israeli people, but about ensuring that their government respects international and humanitarian law and takes action to change the situation on the ground,” he added.

The sanctions include a ban on imports of products from Jewish settlements in the West Bank and restrictions on consular assistance for Belgian nationals living in settlements considered illegal under international law.

Brussels will also review procurement involving Israeli companies and blacklist “two extremist Israeli ministers, several violent settlers, and Hamas leaders,” Prevot said. He added that Belgium would push for the suspension of the EU’s trade agreement with Israel.

Several countries, including France, plan to recognize Palestine at the UN General Assembly later this month, drawing strong criticism from Israel.

Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused France and Australia of failing to tackle anti-Semitism, arguing that recognition of Palestine would only embolden Hamas.

Israel has rejected UN warnings of famine in Gaza, where more than 63,500 people have been killed since October 2023, according to local health authorities. West Jerusalem has pledged to allow the delivery of aid, but not through distribution points it claims are controlled by Hamas.

September 2, 2025 Posted by | Economics, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation, War Crimes | , , , , | 1 Comment

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