When Settlers Attack

 By: Mr. Yousef Munayyer*

The Palestine Center released a comprehensive report on Israeli settler violence against Palestinian civilians and their property in the West Bank. The report, "When Settlers Attack," is comprised of data gathered over a span of seven years, from 2004 to 2011, that includes over 3,700 separate incidents of settler violence. It provides analysis as to why, how and when Israeli settler violence occurs.

The Palestine Center found that there has been a steady increase of Israeli settler attacks against Palestinian civilians over the past five years and that they are increasingly occurring in the northern West Bank targeting rural villages. Every year, the Palestinian olive harvest period sees the highest peak in attacks on Palestinian civilians. The report determines that the majority of Israeli settler violence is not ‘price tag’ or responsorial in nature, but is structural and a symptom of the occupation. Over 90 percent of Palestinian areas that experience multiple incidents of settler violence are under Israeli security jurisdiction.

 

Click here to download the full report:

When Settlers Attack   (53pages, 2.56 MB )

Executive Summary

- Israeli settler violence presents a direct and consistent threat to Palestinian civilians and their property in the occupied West Bank and instances of Israeli settler violence are on the rise.

- From 2010 to 2011 there was a 39 percent increase in incidents of Israel Settler violence. In the five year period from 2007 through 2011 there has been a 315 percent increase. Conversely, over the same 5-year period, there has been a 95 percent decrease in Palestinian violence in the West Bank.

- There is a noticeable shift in the proportion of violence as it occurs geographically in the West Bank. In the past, the southern part of the West Bank saw the largest number of instances but in recent years the northern part of the West Bank is becoming increasingly targeted and has overtaken the southern part of the West Bank in terms of number of attacks.

- The period of the olive harvest annually brings a peak in violent settler activity. The presence of Palestinian civilians in olive groves, where they are easy targets for unrestrained and violent Israeli settlers, is the main reason why this occurs on an annual basis.

- There is a noticeable increase in the frequency and proportion of arson attacks employed by violent settlers. This suggests that violent settlers are increasingly choosing this method of violence and will continue to do so. The percentage of arson among all attack types in 2005 was 6 percent and has risen to 11 percent in 2011.

- While minimal variation in Israeli settler violence over time can be explained as a response to Israeli state actions against settlements, like the dismantlement of outposts, the vast majority of Israeli settler violence is not responsorial but rather structural and symptomatic of occupation.

- Over 90 percent of all Palestinian villages which have experienced multiple instances of Israeli settler violence are in areas which fall under Israeli security jurisdiction.

 

Click here to download the full report:

When Settlers Attack   (53pages, 2.56 MB )

* Yousef Munayyer is Executive Director of The Jerusalem Fund and its educational program, The Palestine Center. Prior to joining the Palestine Center Munayyer served as a Policy Analyst for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the nation’s largest Arab American membership organization.

 Source: The Palestine Center,The Jerusalem Fund, February 2012