West Bank – altnews.org

Words without Action: The West’s Role in Israel’s Illegal Settlement Expansion

November 4, 2021November 5, 2021 Ramzy Baroud 0 Comments Daily Digest, Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Foreign Affairs, Israeli settlements, occupation, Palestine, settler-colonialism, West Bank

The international uproar in response to Israel’s approval of a massive expansion of its illegal settlement enterprise in the occupied Palestinian West Bank may give the impression that such a reaction could, in theory, force Israel to abandon its plans. Alas, it will not, because the statements of ‘concern,’ ‘regrets’, ‘disappointment’ and even outright condemnation are rarely followed by meaningful action. True, the international community has a political, and even legal, frame of reference regarding its position on the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Unfortunately, however, it has no genuine political mandate, or the inclination to act individually or collectively, to bring this occupation to an end. This is precisely why the announcement on October 27 by Israel that it has given a ‘final approval’ for the building of 1,800 housing units and initial approval for another 1,344 will unlikely be reversed anytime soon. One ought to keep in mind that this decision came only two days after an earlier announcement that the Israeli government had advanced construction tenders for 1,355 housing units in the occupied West Bank. Israel has rarely, if ever, reversed such decisions since its establishment on the ruins of historic Palestine. Moreover, since Israel’s occupation of Palestinian

mintpressnews.com Opinion

Report Reveals European Firms Have More Than $255B Entwined in Illegal Israeli Settlements

October 21, 2021October 22, 2021 Jessica Buxbaum 0 Comments BDS Movement, Daily Digest, Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Inside Stories, Inside Stories, Israeli settlements, Palestine, Top Story, West Bank

OCCUPIED WEST BANK, PALESTINE — Nearly 700 European firms have financial ties worth $255 billion with businesses actively involved in Israeli settlements, according to a new civil society report. The Don’t Buy Into Occupation (DBIO) coalition is a joint project between 25 Palestinian and European non-governmental organizations investigating the business connections between companies operating in illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (oPT) and European financial institutions. The coalition’s latest research found 672 European financial institutions had relationships with 50 businesses participating in Israel’s settlement economy. Between 2018 and May 2021, major European firms provided loans and underwritings amounting to $114 billion to these businesses while investing $141 billion. “The involvement of these corporations with the settlements — through investments, banking loans, resource extraction, infrastructure contracts, and equipment and product supply agreements — provides them with the indispensable economic oxygen they require to grow and thrive,” Michael Lynk, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territory Occupied since 1967, wrote in the report. The findings The DBIO coalition found that the top 10 creditors collectively gave $77.81 billion to businesses involved in the Israeli settlements. These firms are BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, HSBC,

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Rashida Tlaib Shares Lie About 'Apartheid' Israelis Setting Fire to Palestinian Fields

May 7, 2021May 8, 2021 Deborah Brand american jewish committee, Israel / Middle East, Israel security, national security, Palestinian terrorists, Politics, Rashida Tlaib, West Bank

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) has come under fire for accusing Israel of “apartheid” and “stealing Palestinian homes and burning their lands,” and spreading the lie Israelis had set fires to Palestinian fields. “@RashidaTlaib, you shared a falsehood about Israeli Jews setting fire to Palestinian fields. This ugly claim has been retracted. You’re a member of Congress. Take down your tweet. Or is it okay to perpetuate untruths when they fit your policy agenda?” the American Jewish Committee (AJC) tweeted Thursday. .@RashidaTlaib, you shared a falsehood about Israeli Jews setting fire to Palestinian fields. This ugly claim has been retracted. You’re a member of Congress. Take down your tweet. Or is it okay to perpetuate untruths when they fit your policy agenda? https://t.co/0DqG6i6Tpl — American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) May 6, 2021 Tlaib retweeted an article that cited Palestinian media sources and a tweet posted Tuesday by the radical left-wing NGO B’Tselem, which shared a dramatic image of the blaze and said Israeli “settlers” were to blame. “Stealing Palestinian homes and burning their lands. The actions of an apartheid state. We cannot stand by and watch this happen,” Tlaib wrote, tagging the account of US Secretary of State