West Bank Palestinian Villagers Flee Homes Amid Settler Violence, Failed IDF Protection
The state committed to Israel's High Court to protect these West Bank villagers from settler violence. But after the Israeli authorities again failed to protect them and prevented them from rebuilding demolished structures, most have left. Expert jurists in international law: 'This is a forcible transfer'
Hagar Shezaf
Sep 22, 2024 7:47 pm IDT
Most of the Palestinian residents of the West Bank village of Zanuta, situated in the southern Hebron Hills, were forced to flee their village for the second time after being harassed by Israeli settlers and subjected to building restrictions by the Israeli army's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories unit.
The residents fled even though the Israeli state committed before the High Court to allow them to return to their village, with the court's judges having ruled that the authorities must enforce the law against local settlers.
Following the state's commitment to care for their safety, the villagers returned to Zanuta in late August. Since then, according to a contempt of court motion that was filed on Wednesday, settlers have continued attacking and threatening the residents of the village without police action having been taken against them.
Attorney Dr. Quamar Mishirqi Assad, of the non-governmental organization Haqel – in Defense of Human Rights, filed the motion on the grounds that the Israeli state breached its commitment to allow the villagers to return home and protect them, resulting in a "second transfer," as she put it.
The motion states that since the villagers returned to Zanuta, armed settlers have entered the village, launched drones over its airspace, and prevented shepherds from herding their sheep. The motion adds that police officers who arrived at the scene refused to remove the settlers and claimed that they had the right to be there.
COGAT has also not allowed the villagers to rebuild the buildings that were destroyed after they left the village the first time. Moreover, the military unit has also prevented the residents from building shaded shed areas, claiming that they are prohibited from doing so because the area is an archeological site.
COGAT recently suggested that the residents of the village move to another area located around two kilometers north of Zanuta, to a location that would be arranged for them. COGAT told them that if they did not accept the offer – or suggest an alternative – buildings in their village would be demolished.
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