Channel Ten TV’s military affairs correspondent reported Monday evening that “these [see video below] pictures give the IDF a serious headache,” because they show soldiers who join rioting settlers and using their IDF-issue weapons. Soldiers manning an observation post of the Etzioni Brigade, which is the Bethlehem brigade, were amazed when their security cameras spotted two of their comrades out there. Corporal Baruch Brandoi of the anti-terror school and Sergeant Nahman Alfasi of the Artillery Corps, both residents of the settlement of Bat Ayin, took their M-16’s and joined their friends on a revenge campaign against the nearby Palestinian village of Hirbat Zafa. The incident took place shortly after the lethal ax attack in Bat Ayin. The settlers wanted revenge. A group of settlers started throwing rocks at the Palestinian village. The Palestinians responded in kind, but then came the two armed soldiers. Brandoi fired 26 rounds and kept firing even after the Palestinians have fled. Alfasi fired 12 rounds. [Full translated transcript here.]

The “headache” was not bad enough, apparently, for the IDF to put some serious effort into disciplining these soldiers, despite the extraordinary evidence.

Presenting the pictures before the court, the military prosecution argued that the two soldiers were under no life threat and thus had no reason to open fire, but was forced to make a plea bargain deal with them, and each of the shooters was handed down a sentence of 21 days in the military prison.

The de facto parallel hierarchies – military and rabbinical — that the many fundamentalist combat soldiers owe allegiance to have been a major problem for IDF operations in the West Bank for some time. One only needs to skim through Yesh Din’s numerous publications in order to understand how blurred the lines between the IDF and settler paramilitaries have become.

The IDF’s patent inability or unwillingness to deal with the problem is evident on a nearly daily basis. Here are two examples just from this morning:
IDF reservists in a unit specializing in West Bank operations publish a petition calling on the unit to desist from participating in outpost evacuations. This is shortly after the a group of new recruits to the unit who staged a protest [!] in the middle of a major basic training ceremony were given slaps on the wrist.
Students at Mercaz Harav Yeshiva find “the subject of killing gentiles, and more specifically Palestinians as part of the ongoing battle against terrorism, particularly relevant for [those] who have served, are presently serving or plan on serving in the IDF.”

Mairav Zonszein, Antony Loewenstein and Joseph Dana write:

The occupation can seem predictably mundane from a distance. To most Israelis the settlement project is seen as a problem, but a problem happening “over there” and utterly removed from their lives. Rampaging settlers are viewed occasionally on television. Violent Palestinians are seen to resist for no apparent reason. The international community and Barack Obama are protesting the illegal outposts and ongoing colonial project in the West Bank with polls suggesting that many Israelis are opposed to this apparently unfair pressure.

They should spend a day in the West Bank.

For the last three months, Ta’ayush activists have been accompanying Palestinian farmers from Safa to their lands just below the settlement of Bat Ayin. Since a child from the settlement was murdered in April, settlers have been consistently attacking Palestinians when they attempt to work in their fields, as well as burning the fields themselves – all under the nose of the IDF, which has done nothing to prevent the crimes or punish them.

The scenes from Safa in this period have been grim. If it is not the settlers aggressively driving out the local farmers, it is the army, which acts in complete disregard of Israeli Supreme Court rulings. After weeks of confrontations and brutal arrests, the army seemed to realize that we would not go away, and they would have to change their tactics.

Two weeks ago the army issued a 45-day closed military zone order on the agricultural land of Safa for all Israelis and internationals, asserting that our services would not be needed any longer, as they would ensure the Palestinians could work their land with the army’s protection. In these two weeks, Ta’ayush decided to respect the order and see if the army would indeed deliver on what it promised. However, during this time, the settlers infiltrated the agricultural land of Safa and cut down fruit trees and burned crop fields. Thus, despite the area being a closed military zone for all Israelis, somehow the settlers managed to get past the IDF and commit crimes.

This morning we went back to Safa. As Palestinian Ta’ayush activist Issa Slevi told us later, “The soldiers are settlers but in uniform. They both symbolize the occupation.”

After a local family gave us a sugary glass of tea under a blackberry tree, a large group of Ta’ayush activists and internationals from the International Solidarity Movement and Palestine Solidarity Project walked through the village of Safa towards the fields. The town itself is dusty, with some homes half-finished while other structures have circular staircases on the outside. “I Love Hamas” was sprayed in English on a wall. Children pointed and waved while the women stood together and smiled. Some men led the procession of around 50 people, including the Palestinians. Accredited journalists, from Reuters and Lebanese media, followed. One even held a gas mask, expecting tear-gas.

It was Saturday and the settlers on the nearby hill were virtually invisible. Their houses and caravans sat illegally nearby. A number of IDF soldiers soon appeared on a horizon and approached from the other end of the dirt track. A confrontation was inevitable. The aim was to accompany the Palestinian farmers to their land in the gorge to protect against settler attacks. In the past, activists were physically assaulted and beaten with batons by the IDF so we expected the worst. We didn’t predict two hours of heated debate and political discussion.

The soldiers announced that the Palestinians were allowed to pass on their own and tend their fields. The farmers were highly skeptical because settlers would likely attack them. Some activists pushed the IDF to join the Palestinians but they were denied access. Minor scuffles ensued. Supreme Court orders were produced to explain a 2006 ruling that refused the military being able to impose a “closed military zone” to prevent Palestinians working their fields. The IDF regularly breaks the law of its own country, let alone international law. Activists see it every week.

Unlike previous encounters, the IDF commander seemed like a reasonable man, urging restraint from his men and trying to avoid contact. It was a fruitless task, as the soldiers seemed incapable or unwilling to understand the Palestinian hesitance to farm on their own. One old Palestinian farmer, the owner of the area, arrived. He rode down the path on a donkey, alighted, and walked with a stick. He was highly agitated and screamed at the soldiers. He lifted his shirt after a while to show bruise marks caused by settlers.

Eventually Palestinians decided to pass, both men and women, while a number of activists sat down in front of the soldiers. Others milled around. Video cameras and cameras were in abundance, possible explaining the less aggressive approach of the soldiers. This didn’t stop them from arresting 10 people, who were all detained briefly and released soon after. The activists – who did not resist arrest – knew that if brought before a judge, the army would have been found to have acted illegally. This explains why so often the army releases them before it can happen.

The location of the encounter was actually beautiful. A gorge sat at the bottom of a valley, with green fields and olive groves dotting the landscape.

As we waited and sat under a tree to find some shade, an IDF soldier approached us “to talk about the issues.” He was an American Jew around 30 who had made “aliya” to Israel in 1997. He was not a religious fanatic but argued rationally, despite the confused nature of his argument. He initially acknowledged the Palestinians were under occupation then later said the land was “disputed” and had been given by Jordan. He said the IDF was a “humanitarian model” to the world.

We asked if he’d read the recent Breaking the Silence report on alleged atrocities in Gaza . He said he had not but criticized the soldiers for staying anonymous. When challenged about the use of white phosphorous in civilian areas, he replied that it was not illegal to do so. In fact, it is illegal to use the destructive weapon for anything other than flares and certainly not in civilian areas. Countless human rights groups have accused Israel of using the weapon during its war against Gaza in December and January.

The soldier said he saw himself as protecting the settlers, Palestinians and activists, though we reminded him that the IDF usually only protects the settlers and covers their crimes. We agreed that the potential for confrontation between all parties was high. But why remove the peaceful non-violent leftists? The settlers were the most violent party in Safa. Why doesn’t his unit bar them from entering the gorge and allow us to farm with the Palestinians? He dismissed this question outright. Although he didn’t reside in a settlement, he mumbled something defensive when challenged why the Israelis hadn’t prevented the burning of the fields in the last days and weeks.

He seemed a little conflicted about his role in the territories, despite his arrogant air. He defended the killing of civilians – “you know what Colin Powell said during the invasion of Panama? In war, there’s always collateral damage” – but he was open to alternative views. We joked that it would take a while doing drugs in India to get over his conscience after the things he’d seen and done in the West Bank.

It was a strange discussion, though largely friendly and slightly accusatory. A case-study of the soldier would probably reveal a deep-seated need to defend his actions. He constantly talked about “protecting Israeli democracy” though his main job is protecting the settlement project. Palestinians despise their presence, even if violent resistance is relatively uncommon these days.
We disagreed amongst ourselves to the importance of engagement with IDF soldiers. Joseph wasn’t convinced of the necessity, believing the actions of the man spoke far louder than words. Ultimately, he defended the occupation. Antony was more circumspect and wondered if such encounters could contribute to a slow, changing attitude within the soldiers. Joseph argued that things were desperate when even the seemingly decent Israelis were finding ways to defend the situation.

After we left Safa, we briefly visited Issa Slevi’s home in Beit Umar, a long-time believer in non-violent action, in a room with a high ceiling. As we drank hibiscus juice and then piping, hot tea, he told us about the reality of constant IDF harassment of towns and fields. “The media presents the Palestinians as murderers and terrorists and the Israelis as victims”, he said. “The whole world identifies with the Israelis.”

Slevi spoke of a time when his hope for a resolution in the early 1990s had inspired him to distribute flowers to soldiers. But today he was despondent about Fatah – “an Oslo puppet regime” – and damned the “peace process” of the 1990s. It has produced nothing more than settlements and settler violence. He compared the situation in Palestine to the Jim Crow period in the US, “when there were signs that were for ‘dogs only.’ Today, the situation is the same for the Palestinians but there are no signs.”
Despite all the abuse and violence, Slevi was fundamentally opposed to violence. He never spoke to settlers. He wanted a country where both peoples could interact and mingle freely, regardless of religion and political affiliation.

The day was relatively normal in an utterly foreign reality.

Cross posted at Mondoweiss

Over the last several months, Israeli and international activists have made the small village of Safa an important part of the struggle for the rule of law in the occupied territories. The village is situated next to the settlement of Bat Ayin, which was the scene of a horrific murder of a twelve-year-old boy by a mentally disturbed resident of Safa in April 2009. Since that incident and along with growing US pressure on Israel regarding settlements, the settlement has become increasingly violent towards its neighbors in Safa. This violence has been characterized by the burning and cutting down of Palestinian groves, severe beatings of Safa residents and Israeli activists and, just last week, hurling rocks on the farmers and activists that attempt to work the land.

Safa residents depend on grape and olive trees that are located in a deep gorge between their village and Bat Ayin. The settlers often descend into the gorge and rampage through the farmlands as the IDF and police look on, doing nothing to stop it during or after the act. In 2006, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled in a landmark case that the IDF must do whatever possible to allow Palestinians to access their land and protect them while they farm –which primarily means restraining settlers when need be. Israeli and international activists have been accompanying Palestinians to the farmlands over the past few months to ensure they can do their work safely, but we are consistently be attacked by settlers, removed with excessive force by the IDF and often arrested.

Today, 27 June 2009, the IDF and Israel Border Police created a blockade at the entrance of the farmlands. As soon as we arrived, the IDF began using excessive and violent force against the forty to fifty Israelis, Palestinians and international activists on the ground. As we walked into the area, pleading with the army to allow us entry, we were beaten, thrown to the ground, attacked and insulted. We demanded to see legal authority for such actions but that only came later after we had been ‘removed’ from the area. Multiple people suffered bruises and injuries, including an 18-year-old Israeli female whose arm was sprained and a Palestinian man who reportedly had his leg broken.

The IDF arrested 30 Israelis for violating a ‘closed military zone’ order that, according to the 2006 Supreme Court ruling, cannot be used simply to prevent farming in Safa. The activists were detained for three hours and then released without being charged with any offense.

The events today in Safa are a major escalation in IDF policy to intimidate and attack Israeli and international peace activists who wish to help Palestinian farmers maintain their livelihood, while doing nothing to restrain the settlers. No matter how much the state may sympathize with the settlers and feel the need to protect them, it must not allow this vigilante unlawful behavior to continue, as it only propagates the cycle of violence.

The following video is a visual record of the brutality we experienced today and the army’s complete disregard for the laws of the State of Israel, the rights of its citizens, and basic moral conduct.

more footage from Safa. Please make sure to watch from minute 1:30

Yesterday, I got the distrusting news that the many fruit and grape trees had been uprooted or set on fire by the setters in Bat Ayin. I filed these reports with Mondoweiss about the incident:

Israeli settler violence against Palestinians is routine, and unreported
Just got an update from Amiel, a Ta’ayush member, who was in Safa this morning. He told me that settlers uprooted around 150 olive and grape leaf trees in Safa as a protest of our action last Saturday. Some of the grape leaf trees in the video were uprooted this morning. The only news source covering this right now is the Palestinian Ma’an News Agency. It is telling that they are the only ones covering this blatant act of settler violence. Yesterday, in the village of Susya next to the Jewish settlement of the same name, settlers set fire to one of the main tents with people inside at four in the morning. Another act of violence only covered in the Palestinian news sources. How can we talk about the problem of settler violence if no one reports it?

Settler arson and vandalism go uninvestigated
Joseph Dana follows up on his report of this morning from Safa in the West Bank:
I just got an email from Ta’ayush activists who went to Safa this afternoon with the Palestinian land owners whose fields were burned and trees uprooted. Soon after they arrived at the farm land, IDF and police showed up. An IDF commander proudly announced that he spotted the fire last night and put it out. The Ta’ayush activists then pleaded with the forces to collect the evidence that the settlers had left behind which included matches and other material to start fires. The IDF and police refused to do so and then declared the area to be a closed military zone basically forcing the activists out of the area. After getting kicked off the land, they accompanied the land owner to file a complaint at the police station in Gush Etzion. The police said that the complaint could not be filed without sufficient evidence. There was a run around regarding the evidence in Safa ending with the police saying that they will ‘look into it’. Ta’ayush is using every possible avenue to contest this legally. There is still nothing in the Israeli press about this event.

Here is a new video of yesterday in Safa

If you are able to read Hebrew you can read the High Court ruling that we were citing yesterday here. Sorry no English translation as of now.

Last Saturday Ta’ayush activists accompanied Palestinian farmers in Safa, where there is a history of assaults by settlers from the fanatic settlement of Bat Ayin. While farming, 15-20 masked settlers came down from the settlement onto Palestinian land and assaulted Ta’ayush activists and Palestinian farmers. They threw stones, hit and slapped, grabbed and destroyed a camera and flipped over Ezra Nawi’s car. The army and border police arrived and herded the Ta’ayush members with sticks, using excessive force and ultimately arresting five members for violating a closed military zone order. Nothing happened to the settlers – yet another instance in which they are not held accountable for the assaults or damage they inflict.

As the events were unfolding, I informed Haaretz about the situation. I have often been quoted in Haaretz about Ta’ayush activities in the West Bank. When they do decide to publish an item on the web site, they obviously put their own spin on it. They certainly do not adopt my language and tone (I say “we were attacked by settlers” and they report “settlers, leftists clash”), but at least they do not compromise the facts.

Yedioth Ahronoth and Jerusalem Post, on the other hand, have no problem making up complete fabrications.

This is how Yedioth chose to portray the same story:

“Stones were thrown during the clashes, but no injuries were reported, and quiet was restored. An initial police investigation revealed that the incident took place when a group of some 20 leftists and Palestinians convened in the area, and were spotted by Bat Ayin residents who arrived at the same location.”

The only stones that were thrown were by settlers, and we were not “spotted” by Bat Ayin residents, but rather targeted for attack without having committed any provocation.

It then goes on: “At one point the area was declared a closed military zone and settlers left the area. Three Palestinians and two leftists were detained for remaining in the area illegally.”

Actually, the settlers fled under the nose of the army and border police well before the area was declared a closed military zone and the five Israeli Ta’ayush activists detained were beaten with sticks and subjected to police brutality. Two Palestinian residents of Safa aged 14 were detained on claims that they threw stones, butt not a single stone was thrown at a single settler.

The Jerusalem Post account is just as false, but arguably more ludicrous.
“Palestinians and Left-wing activists demonstrating near Bat Ayin on Saturday scuffled with settlers from the area.”

The Ta’ayush activists were not “demonstrating” but rather simply escorting farmers on their own land, where they have been earning their livelihood long before Bat Ayin was constructed next door. The Jerusalem Post must have confused us with protestors of the separation barrier in Ni’lin, which is the image in the photo they selected to accompany the piece.

I guess I knew it happens, but when you actually experience such a blatant construction of lies and disregard for journalistic integrity, it is hard to grasp. I guess it is similar to how so many Israelis know there is settler violence, but can’t possibly understand how it feels to actually witness it, or bear the brunt of it. Such false reporting makes it all the more abundantly clear how crucial it is for Israelis to observe facts on the ground with their own eyes.