Israeli Settlement - Criticism By Human Rights Organizations

Criticism By Human Rights Organizations

Amnesty International argues that Israel's settlement policy is discriminatory and a violation of Palestinian human rights. B'Tselem claims that Israeli travel restrictions impact on Palestinian freedom of movement and Palestinian human rights have been violated in Hebron due to the presence of the settlers within the city. According to B'Tselem, over fifty percent of West Bank land expropriated from Palestinians has been used to establish settlements and create reserves of land for their future expansion. The seized lands mainly benefit the settlements and Palestinians cannot use them. The organization also claims that roads built by Israel in the West Bank that are closed to Palestinian vehicles are 'discriminatory.'

Human Rights Watch has filed reports on "settler violence," referring to stoning and shooting incidents involving Israeli settlers. Israel's withdrawal from Gaza and Hebron have led to violent settler protests and disputes over land and resources. Meron Benvenisti described the settlement enterprise as a "commercial real estate project that conscripts Zionist rhetoric for profit."

The construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier has been criticized as an infringement on Palestinian human and land rights. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimated that 10% of the West Bank would fall on the Israeli side of the barrier. In a booklet published by Breaking the Silence, 30 Israeli soldiers who served in the West Bank have described the army's day-to-day actions with descriptions of "beatings, intimidation, humiliation, verbal abuse, night-time arrests and injury" of children, who are handcuffed and blindfolded and denied recourse to lawyers, either on suspicions of stone-throwing or arrested in order to gather information on their relatives and neighbours.