#israel settlements

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BREAKING: Israeli Settlers Kill American Citizen in Occupied West Bank, Family Says

Sayfollah Musallet was visiting his family in the village of Al-Mazra'a ash-Sharqiya when settlers allegedly beat him unconscious and blocke

Prem Thakker at Zeteo:

Israeli settlers brutalized an American, beating him unconscious and blocking an ambulance from reaching him, according to the victim’s family. The young Palestinian-American was pronounced dead by the time he arrived at a hospital. Sayfollah Musallet, 20, was visiting his family in the Palestinian town of Al-Mazra'a ash-Sharqiya. His family said in a statement he was beaten "while he was protecting his family's land from settlers who were attempting to steal it." The settlers, according to the family's statement, surrounded Musallet for more than three hours, preventing paramedics from reaching him and "providing life-saving aid." The Palestinian Ministry of Health later said another young Palestinian man, Muhammad Rizq Hussein al-Shalabi, was killed in the same attack by Israeli settlers in the West Bank town of Sinjil. Al-Shalabi was shot and left bleeding for hours, Palestinian officials said. The Israeli military, which did not respond to a request for comment, is reportedly investigating the incident. The State Department said it was aware of reports of “the death of a US citizen in the West Bank” and that it “has no higher priority than the safety and security of US citizens overseas.” It, however, declined further, citing “respect for the privacy of the family.”

‘Beautiful Heart’

Two of Musallet’s cousins, Fatmah Muhammad and another, granted anonymity due to safety concerns, say he had arrived in Palestine in June. Born in Florida, Musallet grew up in the town of Port Charlotte. Muhammad described Musallet as “one of those kids that everyone loves” with a “beautiful heart,” a “sweet, gentle kid, very genuine,” everyone attests as funny and bright. In Florida, he helped run a family ice cream shop, a place where his personality shone through, his family members said.

Sayfollah Musallet, a Palestinian-American, was killed and beaten by Israel settlers while visiting family in the occupied West Bank town of Al-Mazra'a ash-Sharqiya in Palestine.

See Also:

The Guardian: Israeli settlers kill American-Palestinian visiting relatives in West Bank, says family

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Israel confirms plans to create 22 new settlements in occupied West Bank

Defence minister says move ‘prevents establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel’

Lorenzo Tondo at The Guardian:

Israel has said it will establish 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, including the legalisation of outposts already built without government authorisation, after a security cabinet vote held in secret last week. Israel occupied the West Bank, capturing it from Jordan, in the six-day war of 1967. Since then, successive governments have tried to permanently cement Israeli control over the land, in part by declaring swathes as “state lands”, which prevents private Palestinian ownership. The motion was said to have been put forward by the far-right defence minister, Israel Katz, and finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in the West Bank settlement of Kedumim, which is considered illegal under international law. Katz said the settlement decision “strengthens our hold on Judea and Samaria”, using the biblical term for the West Bank, “anchors our historical right in the Land of Israel, and constitutes a crushing response to Palestinian terrorism”. He added it was also “a strategic move that prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel”. The government intends to use the 22 settlements to bolster Israel’s presence around Route 443, which connects Jerusalem and Tel Aviv via Modiin and was described by Israel Ganz, the head of the Yesha council umbrella group of West Bank Jewish municipalities, as “the most important decision since 1967”. The minister said on X: “We have made a historic decision for the development of settlements: 22 new communities in Judea and Samaria, renewing the settlement of the north of Samaria, and reinforcing the eastern axis of the State of Israel.”

Last July, Israel approved the largest seizure of land in the occupied West Bank in more than three decades, according to a report released by Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement watchdog. At the time, the Israeli government approved the appropriation of 12.7 sq km (nearly 5 sq miles) of land in the Jordan valley, indicating it was “the largest single appropriation approved since the 1993 Oslo accords”, referring to the start of the peace process. In a leaked recording captured by Peace Now last year, Smotrich, during a conference for his National Religious Party-Religious Zionism, disclosed that the land confiscations in 2024 surpassed previous years’ averages by approximately tenfold. He said: “This thing is mega-strategic and we are investing a lot in it. “This is something that will change the map dramatically.” In May 2023, Smotrich, who said his “life’s mission is to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state”, instructed Israeli government ministries to prepare for a further 500,000 Israeli settlers to move into the occupied West Bank.

Israel Apartheid State plans to construct 22 illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

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United Nations Court: Israel Is Occupying Palestinian Territories Illegally

Israel is extensively violating international law, the International Court of Justice concluded in an advisory opinion separate from the Gaz

Akbar Shahid Ahmed at HuffPost:

The United Nations’ top court on Friday said Israel is illegally occupying the Palestinian regions it has controlled since 1967 and must end its presence in them — a landmark statement that boosts momentum for a change in Israeli policy.

The court found that Israel is committing major violations of international law, including “de facto annexation” of occupied land and breaking the global prohibition against racial discrimination and apartheid. It concluded that Israel should take steps like evacuating settlers and making reparations to affected Palestinians. It also emphasized Palestinians’ right to self-determination, and said other countries are obliged to cease support for Israel’s occupation and to help end the policy “as rapidly as possible.” The advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice covers Israeli practices in the occupied West Bank, in East Jerusalem (which Israel claims as its own territory) and in the Gaza Strip. The opinion from the panel of 15 judges from around the world, selected by the U.N. General Assembly, is non-binding and has no immediate consequences. The ICJ previously issued an opinion in 2004 saying Israel’s construction of a “separation wall” in the West Bank was illegal, yet the wall is still standing 20 years later.

[...] Meanwhile, the ICJ has found that various ongoing Israeli practices, from demolishing Palestinian homes to imposing “a regime of comprehensive restriction” on Palestinian movement, hinder the chances of Palestinian statehood ― which could bolster the argument that the longer the current situation persists, the less likely peace becomes.

[...] On Thursday, Israel’s parliament voted against the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state, backing a resolution that called the prospect “an existential danger to the State of Israel.” Many members of Israel’s security establishment and supporters of the country abroad argue the opposite: that reaching an agreement is the only way to lower tensions and respect Israel’s stated identity as a Jewish and democratic state.

[...] The court’s consideration of the Israeli occupation is separate from the case it is considering between South Africa and Israel, in which the former argues the latter may be committing genocide against Palestinians through its ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip. The court has said there is a “plausible” risk of genocide, and issued three orders requiring Israel to change its conduct to do more to shield civilians. Those orders, known as provisional measures, are meant to be binding, but Israel has largely maintained the policies the court criticized, such as limits on the provision of aid to Gaza. The Friday opinion is also distinct from the action that another body, the International Criminal Court, is considering in relation to Israel-Palestine. The ICC’s top prosecutor is seeking arrest warrants against Israel’s prime minister and defense minister and three leaders of the Palestinian militant faction Hamas for alleged war crimes during the Oct. 7 attack and Israel’s military response in Gaza since.

The International Court of Justice issued a nonbinding ruling that Israel Apartheid State is breaching international law by illegally occupying Palestinian territory in East Jerusalem, West Bank, and Gaza.

This come on the heels of the Knesset in Israel voting to reject recognition for a Palestinian state.

See Also:

Sky News: ICJ rules Israel settlement policy in occupied Palestinian territories in breach of international law

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EXCLUSIVE: Centrist Ruben Gallego Circulating Letter Pushing Trump to Investigate Israeli Settler Violence

The effort comes after Gallego and other Democrats have faced criticism for their responses to Israel’s US-backed genocide in Gaza.

Prem Thakker at Zeteo:

Arizona Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego is leading an effort to push the Trump administration to investigate and punish those involved in settler violence against Palestinians and US citizens in the occupied West Bank. The letter, led by a centrist Democrat, underscores how much of the party, especially the more moderate wing, is being pushed to evolve their stances as anger among Americans over Israeli settler violence and Israel's genocide in Gaza grows. A source familiar with the effort says Gallego is collecting Senate signatures for the letter to be sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The letter, obtained by Zeteo, says that the Israeli settler attacks and settlers’ obstruction of humanitarian aid headed to Gaza “directly undermine the United States’ foreign policy interests, contribute to regional instability, and potentially constitute gross violations of human rights.” The letter cites the killing of Sayfollah Musallet, a 20-year-old from Florida who was allegedly beaten to death by Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Sinjil, and the death of Khamis Ayyad, a 40-year-old who lived in Chicago, who died after an Israeli settler arson attack in the village of Silwad. The letter urges the Trump administration to conduct a full review of individuals accused of obstructing aid to Gaza and those who have engaged in violent attacks on Palestinians and aid workers in the West Bank; to sanction those culpable; and to coordinate with Israeli authorities to “ensure accountability and prevent further disruption of humanitarian operations.”

The letter looks to Executive Order 13818 – signed by President Donald Trump in 2017 – which gives the US authority to sanction foreign individuals involved in “serious human rights abuses” and “corruption.” Former President Joe Biden had invoked the authority to sanction dozens of Israeli settlers and entities it said were involved in West Bank violence. Trump rolled back these sanctions immediately upon taking office. (One of those targets, Yinon Levi, allegedly went on to kill Awdah Hathleen, a crew member of the Oscar-winning film ‘No Other Land.’)

Zeteo reports that Senator and possible 2028 Presidential contender Ruben Gallego (D) is circulating a letter urging the Trump Administration to investigate and punish those involved in settler violence against Palestinians and US citizens in the occupied West Bank.