I wonder what folks here think of recent and current events in Israel and Palestine. According to international law, Israel is an occupying force in the West Bank, land it captured in a pre-emotive war. As such, it is accountable for the humane treatment of the Palestinians living under an occupation.

And yet, we know that Palestinians in the West Bank do not have equal rights. Worse, Jewish Settlers see it as their right and privilege to harass Palestinians, with no punishment by the Israel Occupying Forces (IOF). And yet, unarmed Palestinians who protest against their maltreatment are routinely shot at with teargas, rubber bullets, live rounds, and jailed in Israeli military prisons by the IOF.

The United States funds the occupation with $3.8 billion annually. Yet despite laws that prohibit the use of taxpayer money for abuses outlined above and well documented by a number of humanitarian rights organizations, the money continues to flow. With very little pushback or accountability.

Here’s just one story that encapsulates the situation. Posting it in its entirety:

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Home \Daily News
Israeli settlers set fire to Palestinian farmlands in al-Sawiya
farmlands on fire

[english.palinfo.com]

Israeli Settlers Set Fire to Palestinian Farmlands in al-Sawiya

“A group of Israeli settlers on Tuesday afternoon burned vast tracts of Palestinian-owned farmland in al-Sawiya village in the West Bank district of Nablus.

“Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian activist who documents settler violations in the northern West Bank, said that Jewish settlers from Rahalim Settlement set fire to large areas of Palestinian farmland in al-Sawiya, destroying various crops as well as a large number of olive trees.

“Settler attacks on Palestinians and their property are witnessed on almost a daily basis across the occupied West Bank, yet they are rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.”