Amnesty calls West Bank ethnic cleansing'state-sponsored' and international allies bar Finance Minister Smotrich. This week, moves by France to bar a senior Israeli minister, six Western states sanctioned settler networks and an Amnesty International accusation that Israel was implementing a “ state-sponsored ” campaign of ethnic cleansing in a drive to effectively annex parts of the West Bank, did little to restrain Israel. Observers say this could mark a turning point in how the issue is addressed.

The Broader Picture

The backdrop to this story helps explain both the urgency and the broader implications.

The Israeli cabinet advanced the funding of dozens of new settlements, moved to legalise the very outposts whose residents terrorise Palestinian communities, and took a step it had avoided for three decades: establishing a permanent military base inside areas of the West Bank supposedly under full Palestinian administrative control.

On June 9, France banned Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, from entering the country, alongside four settler organisation leaders and 21 individual settlers, with Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot citing Smotrich ’ s promotion of West Bank annexation, the resettlement of Gaza and the engineered “ economic collapse ” of the Palestinian Authority.

Adding to the complexity of the situation, israeli anti-settlement body Peace Now said the cabinet moved to fund 69 settlements in a plan worth $ 388m, whereas bypassing standard planning procedures.

Expert Analysis

The analysis from informed observers points to several important takeaways.

Such political backing for the increasingly brazen settler movement comes as the Oslo Accords ’ territorial divisions, which nominally place Areas A and B of the West Bank under Palestinian partial or full control, are being eroded in unprecedented fashion by Israeli authorities.

In a detail that has not gone unnoticed, on June 11, Haaretz revealed the Israeli military announcing it was establishing a permanent post in Jenin refugee camp – the first standing presence within Area A since Oslo, an area meant to be under full Palestinian civil and security control.

According to those with knowledge of the situation, in Deir Abu Mash ’ al, residents spent six consecutive days attempting to stop settlers establishing an illegal outpost on al-Qarana hill.

Impact on Americans

The impact of this situation is expected to be felt across multiple areas.

After villagers repeatedly dismantled a settler tent, settlers erected a second on June 15, attacking residents and a council member and injuring four Palestinians, one critically, while Israeli forces fired tear gas and live ammunition, according to Wafa and local activists.

Significantly, settlers expanded outposts elsewhere – bringing mobile units to Karmeilo, east of al-Taybeh, unloading caravans at the Gharaba outpost northwest of Sinjil, and seizing hundreds of dunums [ units of land] across the Jalud, Qaryut and Khirbet Sarra plains south of Nablus, where local activists reported police barred landowners while leaving settlers undisturbed.

Meanwhile, sources familiar with the matter indicate that on June 14, according to Wafa and local activists, 50 to 60 masked, armed settlers attacked Deir Dibwan and neighbouring Burqa east of Ramallah, torching six vehicles, partially burning a home, and setting fire to the entrances of mosques in both villages before residents extinguished them.

According to those with knowledge of the situation, settlers also assaulted residents and burned wheat fields near Nablus.

At the same time, on June 15, in the Ighziwah and Ma ’ in areas east of Yatta, forces demolished two family homes housing 25 people, two agricultural sheds, a peri

Looking Ahead

A clearer picture is expected to emerge as more information comes to light in the days ahead. Until then, this development remains a pivotal point in an ongoing story with significant national implications.