Since late December, Palestinians living in the village of Battir, west of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, have been cut off from significant portions of their land. A group of Israeli settlers simply arrived in the area one day — which UNESCO has designated as a world heritage site — and set up a new outpost, with a few small shacks for living in and for keeping their livestock.

As a result, the farmers and shepherds of Battir have completely lost access to land that used to be the source of their livelihood. “This area became forbidden for Palestinians to reach — settlers may shoot any Palestinian who is found there. The settlers wear army uniforms and move under the army’s protection,” Allyan continued, noting a trend by which the enlistment of settlers into the army’s reserves amid Israel’s war on Gaza has made it harder to distinguish between settlers and soldiers.

Over the last five months, large swathes of Palestinian-owned land in the West Bank have been effectively annexed by Israeli settlers. In some areas, like Battir, settlers have established completely new outposts — nine of them, according to a report by Peace Now.

  • Plague_Doctor@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Isreal is the size of New Jersey and has nearly 200, 000 less citizens than New Jersey. You don’t see New Jersey trying to annex and Occupy more land in New York State or Pennsylvania.

    • Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works
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      8 months ago

      You don’t see New Jersey trying to annex and Occupy more land in New York State

      I feel like your just describing long Island

      • Sybil@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        You don’t see New Jersey trying to annex and Occupy more land in New York State

        i literally had a nj resident tell me “at least we have philly”.

    • Ranvier@sopuli.xyz
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      8 months ago

      New Jersey is coming for New York’s land!

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey_v._New_York

      If you wondered why only the center portion of Ellis Island is in New York, this is why.

      In seriousness unlike New Jersey (or at least new jersey before it become extremely urbanized) a good portion of Israel’s land is desert that’s not very useful for farming or grazing. Not an excuse though, especially when the west bank and Gaza have less percentage of arable land than Israel as is for a denser population. Your point stands.