Palestinian American beaten by Israeli settlers Dear Email, As Palestinians and the international community mourn the murder of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh at the hands of Israeli occupation forces on May 11th, Israeli settlers attacked and wounded a field researcher from our allies at Defense for Children International. American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) condemns settler-colonial violence and calls on US elected officials to demand all perpetrators and enablers of settler violence be held accountable. Often under the protection of Israeli soldiers, Israeli settlers have a record of systematically attacking Palestinians, rarely held accountable for their actions. Most recently, on the early morning of March 23rd, armed Zionist settlers from an illegal settlement near the village of Mukhmas, on the outskirts of Ramallah, stormed the village, threatened its residents, and vandalized their property, including a Mosque and a clinic. In 502 incidents of settler violence between November 1st, 2020, and October 31st, 2021, 6 Palestinians were killed and 170 Palestinians were injured - including at least 83 men, 32 children, and 11 women (according to a report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights). Settlers have targeted Palestinian property, destroying approximately 12,800 trees and vandalizing 242 vehicles. Most notably, in 2015, settlers murdered the Dawabsha family, burning them alive in their own home in the village of Duma.  Nasif Abdel Jaber, a 63-year-old Palestinian, US citizen, and cancer survivor is the latest victim of settler violence. On April 8, 2022, while he tended to his privately owned agricultural land in the village of Mukhmas, near Jerusalem and Ramallah, Mr. Abdel Jaber was brutally attacked by settlers, who were trespassing on his land. Abdel Jaber recounted the attack – “I saw two settlers coming down while I was on my land,” Mr. Abdel Jaber told +972 Magazine. “They went for me, and one of them pointed a gun at me. Both were armed. I started to escape, but they caught me. I’m sick and can’t run fast. They got me on the ground, one of them hit me with his hands, and the other with an object that felt like a pole. I was hit hard on my head, my body, my legs. This was on my own land." Earlier in the year, on January 21st, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian villagers and human rights activists who were planting olive trees in the farming village of Burin, Northern West Bank, and set a car ablaze, injuring seven people. Beyond facing violence at the hand of settler colonialism, Palestinians have been – and continue to be –forced out of their homes because of the ongoing expansion of Israel's settlement enterprise. Palestinian families and establishments are being systematically replaced by the Israeli government with Jewish-only settlers. And in part of Jerusalem, Palestinians are being displaced unbelievably. These acts of dispossession devastate the Palestinian economy, cut off access to Palestinian farmland and water, displace communities, and separate families. Despite its illegality under international law, Israel continues to colonize Palestinian land every day, with the backing of many members of Congress, private funders, and NGOs in the United States. In July of 2021, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib sent a letter to Secretary Yellen asking her to engage in a thorough review of 501c3 organizations that have been fueling the illegal Israeli settler enterprise on occupied Palestinian land through 501c3 charitable contributions to determine whether or not they are violating US obligations under international law. She requested a response, but never got one. Thank you for taking action for Palestine! |
