Links to the videos and transcripts are on this page, after the introduction.
Settlements, settler violence, and population displacement in the Occupied Territories—an overview, including a special report from Masafer Yatta
7:30pm Monday 28th November
With guest speakers:
Dror Etkes of Kerem Navot (Israeli NGO monitoring West Bank land policies/strategies/settlement expansion)
Basel Adra, Palestinian activist and journalist based in Masafer Yatta
Rabbi Mark Solomon, Chair of the Beit Din of Liberal Judaism,
senior lecturer at Leo Baeck College,
rabbi of Edinburgh and Leicester Liberal synaagogues
(speaking in a personal capacity)
The construction/expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank is, arguably, the single biggest obstacle to the establishment of any long-term peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
On 28th November 2022, Liberal Jews for Justice in Israel/Palestine (LJJIP) held a special UK nationwide Zoom event to explore the settlements issue, and the crucial associated challenge of Palestinian population displacement. The event provided an up-to-date eyewitness perspective on these issues, covering the history, the politics, the impacts, the current deteriorating situation and the implications of what is happening. It represented a unique opportunity for us all to learn more about these crucial issues.
Around 240 settlements have so far been built in the West Bank; they now have a combined population of almost half a million people. At the same time, many thousands of Palestinians have been forced from their homes and denied basic civil rights.
The latest episode of Israeli government repression and harassment of West Bank Palestinians is currently taking place in Masafer Yatta, an area in the southern Hebron Hills, around 8 miles west of the Dead Sea. The meeting focused on the situation there:
- Dror Etkes gave an overview of the land policies of the Israeli government and the settlers movement on the West Bank
- Basel Adra provided a report from the ground of how the Palestinian residents of Masafer Yatta see the situation
- Rabbi Mark Solomon spoke of witnessing the aftermath of a house demolition in the South Hebron Hills, and provided a perspective from a Jewish viewpoint on the situation.
This event was recorded, and you can watch the video of each speaker and read an edited transcript of their remarks on the following pages (links open in a new tab):