A Palestinian broke into a West Bank settlement home and fatally stabbed an Israeli woman before fleeing Sunday…
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Much of the West Bank and East Jerusalem has been placed under a lockdown by the Israeli military, and Palestinian workers have been prevented from reaching their jobs, while students have been kept out of school by military forces.
The global community considers the settlements, built on lands Israel captured in the 1967 war and claimed by the Palestinians, illegal or illegitimate.
For its part, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on Tuesday echoed HRW’s call for businesses to cease operations in Israeli settlements.
Palestinians attempted to pass a similar U.N. Security Council resolution about Israeli settlements in 2011, and all but one member – the USA – voted in favor, but without unanimous support, the resolution failed. Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat welcomed the EU’s decision.
The lands are situated south of Jericho, in an area designated in the 1990s’ Oslo peace accords as “Area C”, which is part of the West Bank under Israel’s control.
“These most recent Israeli crackdowns have forced us to be out of work for months to come, which affects our livelihood and our ability to raise our families”, Swaiti said. “Security measures alone can not stop the cycle of violence”, the ministers said, calling for “a fundamental change of policy by Israel with regard to the occupied Palestinian territory”.
“The more settlers feel vulnerable to such brutal attacks, their influential leaders would increase their pressure on the government to more sharply separate Palestinians from settlers”, Ofer Zalzberg of the International Crisis Group think tank said.
Prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu visited the grieving family in Otniel yesterday and vowed to demolish the home of the assailant and revoke the work permits of his relatives.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday night: “We are against killings and bloodshed of any person regardless of his or her religion, ethnicity or race”.
Analysts said increased tensions could prompt settlers who have a strong voice in Israel’s right-wing government to lobby for tougher travel and employment restrictions on Palestinians, a step that could in turn further inflame the atmosphere.
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French state secretary for European Affairs Harlem Desir, standing in for his foreign minister Laurent Fabius, said some countries, including Greece, wanted to see changes to the text, thinking it too critical of Israel. “Yet separation will become more and more difficult” if Israel continues to expand settlements, Shapiro said.
