Settlers setting fire to Palestinian Fields

3.6.09: Security forces must prepare for settler revenge

B'Tselem

"3.6.09: Security forces must prepare for settler revenge

On 2 June, B'Tselem called on the defense minister, OC Central Command, and the commander of SHAI Police District to prepare for acts of violence by settlers following evacuation of outposts.
The demand is made following a wave of violent attacks by Palestinians the previous day, and on the backdrop of experience in recent years regarding what the settlers refer to as their “price tag” policy.

In its letter, B'Tselem claimed that settlers can be expected to try to harm Palestinians and Palestinian property following evacuation of outposts, Therefore, security forces must prepare in advance to prevent attacks of this kind, and certainly must stop the attacks, by removal of the assailants, right at the start. B'Tselem also demanded that security forces fulfill their obligation to allow Palestinian rescue and fire services freedom of movement, or, alternatively, ensure that Israel evacuates the injured and extinguishes the fires.

In the video below, Palestinians in the Nablus area documented fires in fields that were set by settlers. The video was filmed by participants in B'Tselem’s Camera Distribution Project.



In recent years, B'Tselem has documented a number of cases in which settlers acted in accordance with these declarations. The violence followed evacuation of settlements or after authorities demolished their building. The settlers’ actions included gunfire, physical assaults, raids in Palestinian villages and Palestinian land, torching of fields, uprooting of orchards, and damage to property. A few illustrative incidents from the past year follow:

On 24 July 2008, following removal of a bus placed at the Adey Ad outpost, settlers assaulted Palestinian in the area of Yitzhar and damaged orchards and property. During the week following the removal, B'Tselem documented other violence, including an incident in which settlers assaulted shepherds and torched a house in Burin, and a case in which a settler threw stones at a vehicle driving on Route 60 near Yitzhar, severely wounding a woman and her daughter.

On 18 September 2008, following removal of a caravan at the Yad Ya’ir outpost, settlers assaulted Palestinians throughout the West Bank. According to reports the media, in response to the removal, settlers threw stones at Palestinian vehicles at the Shilo intersection, torched olive orchards in the area of the Yitzhar settlement, and attempted to block a road in the Hebron area. In addition, B'Tselem documented that on the same day of the removal, some twenty masked settlers assaulted farmers, causing serious damage to their farm, which is situated next to the outpost.

In October and November 2008, during evacuation of Federman Farm, in Hebron, settlers broke through the fence surrounding the special security area of the Givat Haharsinah settlement, in which the outpost was situated, and repeatedly assaulted several times Palestinians living nearby and their property. The attacks included stone throwing, setting fires, and an attempt to break into one of the houses.

In a few cases that included violent settler raids on adjacent Palestinian villages, B'Tselem’s investigation indicated that security forces took action only at relatively late stages, generally after Palestinians began to throw stones at their assailants. In these cases, security forces entered the village and attacked the Palestinians, using crowd control measures and gunfire, rather than protect Palestinians victims of assault and arrest, or remove, the assailant settlers. As a result, Palestinians were injured and much damage was done to Palestinian property.

Two more examples from the past year follow:

On 19 June 2008, after the police demolished two structures at the Shaked Farm outpost, next to Yitzhar, dozens of settlers and right-wing activists attacked the adjacent village Burin, threw stones at its residents, and burned extensive agricultural areas. Testimonies given to B'Tselem indicate that soldiers who stood between the assailants and village residents fired tear gas into the village, and did not act similarly against the assailants, who remained in place and continued their attacks for a few hours.

In advance of evacuation of the al-Rajabi home, in Hebron, (known as the disputed house), and during the evacuation itself, B'Tselem documented a great number of cases in which settlers assaulted Palestinians and Palestinian property in the area around the settlement. In a few cases, security forces protected the assailants or stood nearby without doing anything to stop the attacks. The most serious incident took place on 4 December 2008, when security forces did not prevent dozens of settlers from entering a Palestinian neighborhood in a wadi nearby, and enabled them to assault Palestinians in the neighborhood. Four residents of Kiryat Arba fired at members of one family, injuring two of them."

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