Israel’s settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are causing “a serious crisis of national identity” and a “grave breach of international law,” a new report says.
It’s the latest example of Israel’s settler-led construction of illegal settlements on private Palestinian land.
The findings, by the Committee to Protect Journalists and Amnesty International, come just weeks after President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. to end its funding for settlements.
“The latest findings of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expose the serious threat to Israel’s long-term viability as a democratic, peaceful and tolerant state,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at the Committee.
funding for Israeli settlements and end Israel’s illegal construction of settlements in violation of international and domestic law.””
We urge President Trump to immediately end the U,S.
funding for Israeli settlements and end Israel’s illegal construction of settlements in violation of international and domestic law.”
In a statement, the U’s State Department said the report’s findings “cannot be supported by any credible evidence.”
“The United States and our allies support Israel’s right to self-determination and promote a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” the statement said.
“But Israel must respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all of its neighbors and ensure that its policies do not damage the prospects of peace.”
The report found that the settlements are causing damage to the Jewish cultural and historical legacy in the occupied West Bank.
It found that more than 1,400 Jewish settlements have been built in the territory since Israel took control of it in the 1967 Six-Day War.
The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization says more than 400,000 Palestinians live in the area today.
The report also found that in the settlement of Gush Etzion, where nearly 60 percent of the settlement population is Israeli, the average number of Israeli settlers per acre is 2.4.
In the settlement blocs of Yitzhar and Ariel, the number is 3.5.
The report also said that the settler population is growing at a rate of more than 600 percent in settlements built since 1967.
The committee also found the settlers are responsible for demolishing thousands of Palestinian homes and schools, damaging Palestinian infrastructure and driving Palestinians out of their homes and livelihoods.
The settlements, which were built without the consent of the Palestinians, have caused a crisis of Israeli democracy, as well as a grave breach of American law, the report said.
The findings are consistent with other recent reports by Amnesty International and the U., which found that Israeli settlements are responsible in part for the death of more Palestinians than the conflict.
The groups’ report, released last month, also noted that the U provides Israel with $4 billion in military aid every year, but that it’s unclear how much the aid goes to the construction of new settlements.
