Born and raised in the American Jewish community, we joined the IDF to defend Israel and its borders. What we did in the occupied territories was a far cry from that. The Lone Soldiers’ Letter demands of our communities to take responsibility for their seemingly unconditional support for Israel despite 52 years of occupation. It’s time to break the silence.
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As we prepare to celebrate Sukkot, it is worth pausing to take in this important reflection from @BtSIsrael on temporariness and permanence under occupation.
Chag Samech from all of us at Na'amod. https://t.co/mfO8aXescW
— Na'amod: British Jews Against Occupation 🐘 (@NaamodUK) September 20, 2021
We wish our readers a happy Sukkot.
— Breaking the Silence (@BtSIsrael) September 20, 2021
For Palestinians in Area C, everything is temporary – except for the occupation and its self-serving legal system, which is permanent.
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For more on this subject, read our testimony booklet on the South Hebron Hills here: https://t.co/NvJKiSMcBz
— Breaking the Silence (@BtSIsrael) September 20, 2021
But laws don't always to everyone. "In Asa’el (an illegal outpost) the CA inspector sent a directive to halt the work. From there how did it unfold? I have no idea. I assume nothing happened […] Life goes on." (Ltn., Civil Administration, Hebron Area. https://t.co/G6iY4KL8zx)
— Breaking the Silence (@BtSIsrael) September 20, 2021
South Hebron Hills residents suffer most from this policy. According to UNOCHA, of the ~2000 structures demolished last year >1200 were in SHH. Settlers from nearby outposts have been known to use drones to report 'illegal' Palestinian construction. The law is the law after all. pic.twitter.com/gJsy4H1FD6
— Breaking the Silence (@BtSIsrael) September 20, 2021
"[The Palestinians] were sitting down, they were forbidden from crossing the road; we made that crystal clear to them. They just watch and look as the tractors rip up the olive trees and everything." 1st Sgt., Reserves, Hebron Area, 2010. https://t.co/WrM5X5eDui
— Breaking the Silence (@BtSIsrael) September 20, 2021
It is no mistake or coincidence. Settler leaders often speak of 'The War over Area C'. In reality, this means a gradual process of pushing the Palestinians out. Everything is done 'legally'. And everyone has a say in who gets to make the laws. Except for Palestinians of course. pic.twitter.com/PXgviAtpfh
— Breaking the Silence (@BtSIsrael) September 20, 2021
And when Palestinians build w/out permits, the IDF sends bulldozers. One officer told us: "[you] remove old people, children, women from their homes […] You remove people your grandmother’s age from the half-shack they live in and it breaks your heart." https://t.co/q1dsX6E7EJ
— Breaking the Silence (@BtSIsrael) September 20, 2021
Palestinians have almost no way of building legally because they're systematically denied permits by Israel's Civil Administration. The CA granted 21 permits to Palestinians between 2016-2018.
Let's say that again: 21 permits in 2 years. For the entire Palestinian pop. of Area C. pic.twitter.com/1XaoxguLEm— Breaking the Silence (@BtSIsrael) September 20, 2021