Israel is always to blame for everything. We all know that. Now it has committed an unspeakable act of ethnic cleansing, of forced deportations, of destroying entire communities and laving countless people homeless.
Or at least that is what you would think after hearing the news reports about the removal of one small recently built Bedouin settlement in the West Bank. To even call it a village would be a gross overstatement.
This so called village was comprised of temporary structures made from a hodge-podge of materials and had only 73 residents. What was there? A total of seven tents and eight pens. That was all. Not one permanent structure.
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Located near the Arab town of Tubas in the northern part of the West Bank, Khirbet Humsa was constructed in a live fire zone used by the IDF for training purposes. This is what happens when a new settlement is built without government approval.
The removal did not come without warning. Nor was it the first time that such a temporary settlements has been razed, in both Israel and the West Bank.
The action was not taken until after Israel’s Supreme Court upheld the decision by the IDF to remove the people from the locality. In rejecting a petition by its residents Israel highest court said that, “The petitioners have no recognized property rights in these areas. These are intruders who use these areas for grazing.”
But if you see the pictures and videos released by the UN you would be forgiven for thinking that an entire city was mercilessly razed to the ground by the Israeli military.
Ride along the highways in Israel’s Negev and you will see such villages throughout the desert. These small settlements have caused problems in the areas of Israel within its pre-1967 borders. They are usually built up without any government authorization. And their residents fight any attempt to move them somewhere else or even to settle in permanent housing built for them by Israel’s government.
Many were removed over the years due to problems with sanitation and because they were located on lands slated for development.
It should also be remembered that countless Israeli settlements have been removed by the Israeli government over the years. Small new hill top settlements or extensions of pre-existing towns pop up all of the time in the West Bank. They are usually comprised of just a few caravans.
Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which administers the occupied West Bank, stated, “We will note that the enforcement was carried out in accordance with the authorities and procedures, and subject to operational considerations.”
“An enforcement activity was carried out by the Supervision Unit of the Civil Administration against 7 tents and 8 pens which were illegally constructed in a firing range located in the Jordan Valley.”
The UN has never condemned Israel for violating the rights of their residents when it dismantles them, usually after long court battles.
An EU spokesperson said, “The EU reiterates its call on Israel to halt all such demolitions, including of EU-funded structures, in particular in light of the humanitarian impact of the current coronavirus pandemic.”
Left wing groups in Israel like B’Tselem wasted no time in jumping on the bandwagon accusing the Israeli government of taking the action merely to block Palestinian settlement in the West Bank.
“As part of its efforts to take over more and more Palestinian land, Israel routinely demolishes Palestinian homes and property,” said B’Tselem spokesperson Amit Gilutz.
He also asserted that the removal took place now so that it would be overshadowed by the US elections adding, “But the wiping off of a whole community at once is extremely rare, and it seems like Israel was making use of the fact that everyone’s attention is currently set elsewhere to move forward with this inhumane act.”
Such organizations are now showing their true colors.
No one is saying that every act by the Israeli government is correct or in keeping with international laws. But such an outcry over this one removal of an illegal settlement is just absurd.
It’s kind of like the boy who cried wolf. Israel’s enemies should have learned by now that by continually attacking it for activities which are not actually illegal or indefensible then they lose credibility when it comes to more serious events.
But this is not surprising. It is also why Israel’s supporters have good cause to dismiss the country’s critics as anti-Israel and not simply wanting peace in the Middle East. They have plenty of proof that groups like the BDS are tainted by anti-Semitism.
If Israel is always wrong and if it is always forced to be on the defensive then Israelis will see any criticism of it, no matter how credible, as an attack on their country’s very existence.
And yes it is true that many of the people behind these campaigns would prefer it if Israel did not exists at all. And yes this does include Jews.
