Settler Violence has always been an integral part of the occupation, but has seen a drastic spike in recent months. We’re at the Knesset (parliament) today to demand it be dealt with.
Follow us here for a peek into the proceedings >>>
@peacenowisrael@YeshDin Kahanist MK Ben Gvir, a settler himself goes off. @mossi_raz: No need to bring in data, settler violence is in this very room.
@peacenowisrael@YeshDin@mossi_raz MK @IbtisamMaraana: There is no Jewish terrorism or Islamic terrorism or Palestinian terrorism. There is simply terrorism, and it must be stopped before it is too late.
@peacenowisrael@YeshDin@mossi_raz@IbtisamMaraana@shachar_keren: We have gathered today to hear testimonies from Israelis and Palestinians who have experienced violence first-hand, listen to long-time activists, hear data from civil society orgs, a discharged soldier, and of course MKs who deal with this issue every day.
@peacenowisrael@YeshDin@mossi_raz@IbtisamMaraana@shachar_keren MK @mossi_raz: I want to share in the grief of the family of Eli Kay who was murdered yesterday. I want to say that violence should always be condemned, especially when it is against civilians, though those who condemned yesterday's violence did not mention settler violence.
@peacenowisrael@YeshDin@mossi_raz@IbtisamMaraana@shachar_keren MK @mossi_raz: This is not a phenomenon of soldiers standing by, but the whole army standing by. The police stand by. The press stands by - in fact, this issue goes almost unreported. Violence is everywhere, in every society, and we regret to see this institutional cooperation.
Haaretz just published an article detailing the scale of destruction in Gaza over the past 20 months. The devastation caused by the IDF stands out, even when compared to some of the most extreme cases in modern history. Here are a few astonishing key findings from the article:
In total, two-thirds of the buildings in the Strip were destroyed or damaged—174,000 out of approximately 250,000 structures. Shuja’iyya, the large eastern neighborhood of Gaza, was wiped off the map. The same goes for Rafah city.
Map: Red indicates areas that were destroyed.
The IDF has destroyed hospitals, infrastructure sites, factories, mosques, churches, markets, and commercial centers. Throughout the war, it damaged or destroyed 2,300 schools and other educational facilities, and 81% of the roads across Gaza have been hit.
For months, Israel has used starvation as a weapon of war. Now, it’s pressing further, increasing its chokehold on aid through displacement and deadly chaos. This is not a humanitarian effort. It is part of a policy of ethnic cleansing, carried out in plain sight 🧵
This week, we saw starving people walk for miles, herded into overcrowded pens, and then met with gunfire once chaos inevitably erupted. This is not a humanitarian aid distribution plan—it’s aid being used as a weapon of war and ethnic cleansing>>
"We can save hundreds of thousands of survivors," UN under-sec-gen Tom Fletcher said. "We have rigorous mechanisms to ensure our aid gets to civilians, and not to Hamas. But Israel denies us access, placing the objective of depopulating Gaza before the lives of civilians">>
Israel's security cabinet unanimously approved a full-scale ground invasion of Gaza, prolonged military control over the Strip, and the potential forced transfer of millions.
After 17 months, they admit what we all knew: It’s not about hostages or security, it’s about land 🧵
Hostage families are outraged at the decision. Even IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir told ministers, “Keep in mind, we may lose the hostages,” but far-right minister Smotrich said the cabinet decision means Israel won’t retreat from any land conquered, even in exchange for hostages.
So it’s official: life is much cheaper than land. Over 2,300 Palestinians have been killed since Israel violated the ceasefire. Now, this govt sees even its own hostages as an afterthought at best, and at worst, a worthy human sacrifice made in service of its messianic vision.
A few days ago, we saw the IDF stoop to new lows with the boldness of their attempts to cover up the killing of 15 rescue workers. Now @haaretzcom uncovered new details that show just how deeply flawed and incomplete their alleged “investigation” was. 🧵 haaretz.com/israel-news/20…
Soldiers shot indiscriminately at the rescue workers from close range for 3.5 minutes (!), as they tried to identify themselves. After a short interrogation of the attack's sole survivor by one soldier who doesn't speak Arabic very well, the workers were deemed to be "Hamas."
12 minutes after the first assault, a UN vehicle with an UNRWA volunteer showed up, driving away from the soldiers, slowly, with the lights on. He was shot nonetheless. The IDF still claims 6 of the 15 rescue workers were Hamas, but refuses to say which 6 they're referring to.
Minister Bezalel Smotrich today said that bringing the hostages was “not the most important goal,” secondary to eliminating “the Gaza problem.” On Saturday, he called for a full military occupation of the strip. This seems like the Israeli govt's actual top priority in this war🧵
And if “saving hostages” isn’t the govt’s top priority, “preventing civilian casualties” is even lower on that list. Of the 1,694 people killed in Gaza since the ceasefire was broken, 595 were children, 308 were women, and 105 were elderly, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Some recent IDF actions echo aspects seen in its Oct 2024 siege on northern Gaza, only this time, in southern Gaza:
Mass Displacement
A new IDF corridor cuts Rafah off from the rest of the strip. Its residents were told to evacuate, and the area was swallowed by the “Perimeter”.
The entire city of Rafah is being swallowed up. @yanivkub of @haaretz reports that the IDF is expanding the new Gaza buffer zone to also include Rafah (in blue). This massive death zone, laid out earlier this week in our latest testimony collection, continues to grow by the day🧵
The soldiers’ testimonies describe the annihilation of what once stood in this area — homes, schools, and agricultural lands — which covered 16% of the entire strip. With Rafah included, we’re now looking at reducing at least another 20% of the strip to a complete wasteland.
This is being sold to Israelis as a security necessity, but, in reality, it’s just a continuation of the same policies and paradigms that brought us here. There is no other way to refer to this policy other than as ethnic cleansing, which can and must never be morally justified.