Gaza is being starved of life, not just food - this is my view from the ground
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Boston Globe
4 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
With arson and land grabs, Israeli settler attacks in West Bank hit record high
'Before the war, they harassed us, but not like this,' said Muhammad Sabr Asalaya, 56, the junkyard owner. 'Now they're trying to expel as many people as they can and annex as much land as they can.' Such attacks were on the rise before Hamas led a deadly raid on Israel in 2023, setting off the war in Gaza, and they have since become the new normal across much of the West Bank. With the world's attention on Gaza, extremist settlers in the West Bank are carrying out one of the most violent and effective campaigns of intimidation and land-grabbing since Israel occupied the territory during the Arab-Israeli War of 1967. Advertisement Settlers carried out more than 750 attacks on Palestinians and their property during the first half of this year, an average of nearly 130 assaults a month, according to records compiled by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. That is the highest monthly average since the UN started compiling such records in 2006. Advertisement The Israeli military has recorded a similar surge in settler violence, though it has documented only 440 attacks in the same period, according to unpublished internal records reviewed by The New York Times. The military, which is the sovereign power in the occupied territory, says it tries to prevent the attacks, but a Times investigation last year found that Israeli authorities have for decades failed to impose meaningful restraints on criminal settlers. While Israel usually prosecutes Palestinians under military law, settlers are typically charged under civil law, if they are prosecuted at all. For this article, reporters for the Times visited five villages recently attacked by settlers, reviewed security footage of several episodes and cellphone footage of others, and spoke with residents of the afflicted villages as well as Israeli military officers and settler leaders. Our reporting found that masked settlers typically sneak into Palestinian villages in the dead of night, setting fire to vehicles and buildings. In some cases, they enter during the daylight hours, leading to confrontations with residents. Sometimes the clashes have involved the Israeli military, leading to the killings of several Palestinians, including a Palestinian American. In one daytime attack, settlers threw a firebomb into a child's bedroom, the child's family said. The vast majority of the 700,000 Jewish Israelis who have settled since 1967 in the West Bank and East Jerusalem— in settlements considered illegal by most of the international community — are not involved in such violence. Mainstream settler leaders say they have a right to the land but oppose attacking Palestinians. Advertisement Hard-line settler leaders acknowledge that their aim is to intimidate Palestinians into leaving strategic tracts of territory that many Palestinians hope may one day form the spine of a state. 'It's not the nicest thing to evacuate a population,' Ariel Danino, a prominent settler activist, said in an interview with the Times in 2023. 'But we're talking about a war over the land, and this is what is done during times of war.' In a recent call, Danino said he stood by the comments but declined a second interview. For several years, the settlers had focused their intimidation on tiny, seminomadic herding communities along a remote chain of hilltops northeast of Ramallah, the main Palestinian city in the West Bank. That campaign has largely succeeded, forcing at least 38 communities to leave their hamlets and encampments since 2023, according to records compiled by B'Tselem, an Israeli rights group. That has eroded the Palestinian presence there and ceded the surrounding slopes to settlers, who have seized the chance to build more small settlement outposts, or encampments. Since the start of 2023, settlers have built more than 130 outposts, mostly in rural areas of the West Bank, that are technically unauthorized but often tolerated by the Israeli government. That is more than they had built in the previous two decades combined, according to research by Peace Now, an Israeli group that backs the creation of a Palestinian state. Now, settlers have expanded their scope. They are increasingly targeting a cluster of wealthier, larger, and better-connected Palestinian villages closer to Ramallah — villages like Burqa and its neighbor, Beitin. Before the junkyard attack in Burqa, masked settlers had, in fact, begun to rampage in Beitin. Just after 1 a.m., Abdallah Abbas, a retired teacher in that village, woke to find his sedan on fire and a Star of David sprayed on the wall of his garden. Advertisement Roughly an hour later, security footage showed, two masked arsonists stole into the yard of Leila Jaraba's house, a few hundred yards away on the edge of the village. One sprayed the hood of Jaraba's car with something flammable, and his accomplice set the car on fire. 'We knew our turn would come,' said Jaraba, 28, who was cowering inside with her husband and two sons, ages 2 and 4 months. 'They want to take this land; they want to kick us out.' About an hour later, masked settlers entered Burqa and attacked Sabr Asalaya's junkyard. Villagers said in interviews that they suspected the same group of settlers might have moved from place to place, wreaking havoc. This sequence of attacks was just a snapshot of a broader pattern of violence in the area. In the first half of 2025, there were an average of 17 attacks a month in this approximately 40-square-mile area, according to the UN. That was nearly twice the monthly rate in 2024 and roughly five times as many as in 2022. The attacks have occurred against the backdrop of intensifying efforts by the Israeli government, which is partly led by longtime settler activists, to entrench its grip on the West Bank. Since entering office in late 2022, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government have authorized more than 30 settlements, some of which were previously built without government permission and have been granted retroactive authorization. It is the largest wave of government-led settlement activity since before the Oslo peace process in the 1990s. Advertisement Simultaneously, the Israeli military has captured and demolished key urban neighborhoods in the northern West Bank that are technically administered by the Palestinian Authority, a semiautonomous institution that oversees civil governance in Palestinian cities. The military has also installed hundreds of roadblocks and checkpoints across the territory. The Israeli military defends its actions as a means of containing Palestinian militant groups that launch terrorist attacks on Israelis. But it has further complicated the lives of most Palestinians in the West Bank, stifled the economy, left tens of thousands of people homeless, and made it even harder for most Palestinians to journey to nearby cities. In villages like Burqa, settlers' attacks make life especially untenable. Repeated arson attacks have damaged scores of used cars that Sabr Asalaya, the junkyard owner, said he had bought from dealers in Israel. 'We are encircled,' Sabr Asalaya said. 'We can't even herd our cattle. We're locked in.'
New Straits Times
33 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Massachusetts man sentenced to 26 months for threats to synagogues, Israel consulate
BOSTON: A Massachusetts man was sentenced on Thursday to more than two years in prison after he threatened to bomb synagogues and kill Jewish children in a series of calls he placed to two local houses of worship and the Israeli consulate in Boston after Israel and Hamas went to war in 2023. John Reardon, 60, was sentenced by US District Judge Julia Kobick in Boston to 26 months in custody after pleading guilty in November to charges related to what prosecutors said were dozens of violent and antisemitic calls and voicemails he placed to Jewish institutions beginning on Oct 7, 2023. Reardon's solicitor did not respond to a request for comment. But in court papers, she argued for a nine-month sentence, saying mental health issues led Reardon to commit a crime that was "terrifying, deeply hurtful, and will cause lasting fear in the victims." He was charged in January 2024, as the US Department of Justice began to warn of a growing number of antisemitic threats nationally following the onset of the war. The war began on Oct 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters stormed into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Israel has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians in its assault on Gaza since then, according to health officials in the Palestinian enclave. Prosecutors in court papers said Reardon, in a voicemail left with a synagogue in Attleboro, Massachusetts, on Jan 25, 2024, said that "you do realise that by supporting genocide that means it's OK for people to commit genocide against you." Prosecutors said Reardon also threatened to bomb Jewish places of worship and said that by "supporting the killing of innocent little children, that means it's OK to kill your children." Prosecutors said he then called another synagogue in Sharon, Massachusetts, and left a threatening voicemail. He also called the Israeli consulate in Boston 98 times over several months, saying in one call it was "time to prepare the furnaces again," according to prosecutors, a reference to the Nazis' systematic extermination of Jews in the Second World War Holocaust.
Canberra Times
36 minutes ago
- Canberra Times
'Disgust': US diplomat attacks ALP's Palestine decision
Test your skills with interactive crosswords, sudoku & trivia. Fresh daily! Your digital replica of Today's Paper. Ready to read from 5am! Be the first to know when news breaks. As it happens Get news, reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarExpert, ACM's exclusive motoring partner. Get real, Australia! Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over. Get the very best journalism from The Canberra Times by signing up to our special reports. As it happens Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday. Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more. Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe. Get the latest property and development news here. We've selected the best reading for your weekend. Join our weekly poll for Canberra Times readers. Your exclusive preview of David Pope's latest cartoon. Going out or staying in? Find out what's on. Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. Don't miss updates on news about the Public Service. As it happens Today's top stories curated by our news team. Also includes evening update. More from National The coalition has pledged to reverse Australia's position if it wins the next election. Almost 150 out of the 193 UN member states have already recognised the state of Palestine, including EU countries Spain and Ireland. Mr Albanese has said Australia's recognition is tied to a commitment that Hamas play no role in a future Palestinian state. Hamas has still not released all of the Israeli hostages. The UN projects 2.1 million people in Gaza are facing high levels of acute food insecurity, while 470,000 are facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity. Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza has killed almost 62,000 Palestinians, including 18,000 children, according to local health authorities. "This is going to set back the peace process by weeks, potentially months, maybe even years." "This decision by the Labor government has bewildered the Americans, that (the government) essentially departed from years of a strong alliance between Israel and America and Australia to make this decision unilaterally," she told Seven's Sunrise. Liberal senator Jane Hume said Americans on both sides of politics had been shocked by the decision on statehood. "It wasn't one taken lightly. It was one taken after weeks and weeks of consideration." "We're convinced we've made the right decision. "There is a readout from the State Department about that conversation," Mr Butler said. Mr Butler denied the US was not informed. While Mr Huckabee said the US got "no heads up" about Australia's decision, Foreign Minister Penny Wong did inform US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ahead of it being made public. "We are convinced this is the right decision at the right time to help build momentum to break this cycle of violence." Mark Butler is adamant the federal government has made the right decision to recognise Palestine. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS) "At the end of the day, this is the ambassador to Israel - his job is to manage the relationship between America and Israel," he told Seven's Sunrise program on Friday. Federal minister Mark Butler sought to downplay the ambassador's comments. The goal is to end the cycle of violence in Gaza sparked when the designated terrorist group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1200 people and taking about 250 hostage. Australia's decision comes after other western allies - the UK, France and Canada - unveiled plans to recognise statehood at the summit, with certain conditions. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will formally recognise Palestine at a United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York in September. "The result of this has been to completely halt any type of thoughtful negotiations going forward." "What Australia and the other countries may have done inadvertently is to push Israel towards doing exactly what they're afraid of," he said. Mr Huckabee criticised the timing of the statehood announcement. Mike Huckabee believes Australia's decision to recognise Palestine may hurt the peace process. (AP PHOTO) "There is an enormous level of disappointment and some disgust," he told ABC's 7.30 program on Thursday night. Mike Huckabee, who was appointed to the ambassadorial role by President Donald Trump in April, said the US was taken aback by the federal government's announcement on Monday. All other regional websites in your area The digital version of Today's Paper All articles from our website & app Login or signup to continue reading Subscribe now for unlimited access. America's ambassador to Israel has hit out at Australia's decision to recognise Palestine, saying the US is "disappointed" by the decision. The top US diplomat in Israel is scathing of Australia's plan to recognise Palestinian statehood Photo: Darren England/AAP PHOTOS Your digital subscription includes access to content from all our websites in your region. Access unlimited news content and The Canberra Times app. Premium subscribers also enjoy interactive puzzles and access to the digital version of our print edition - Today's Paper. Login or create a free account to save this to My Saved List Login or create a free account to save this to My Saved List Login or create a free account to save this to My Saved List
