In his opinion piece “Recognising Palestine ignores need for peace” (July 5), Colin Rubenstein manages to trivialise the Jewish presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, by claiming that Jewish settlements take up less than 2 per cent of the West Bank.
The 2 per cent figure, oft quoted by pro-settler groups, includes only the built-up areas of these colonies. It does not include the security zones nor the extended buffer zones surrounding the colonies. Nor does it include access roads for Israelis-only on public land that connects the colonies, nor the agricultural land controlled by the settlers, nor the areas under administrative control of settler regional councils, all closed to Palestinians. Nor does it include closed military zones under the jurisdiction of the Israeli Army.
According to Israeli human rights group B’tzelem, the area controlled by the settlements and their regional councils constitutes 36.6 per cent of the West Bank.
These figures ignore the fact that all Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are deemed illegal under international law and are a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. In the words of Amnesty International, the settlement policy is “inherently discriminatory” and “perpetuates violations against Palestinians”.
Israel’s ability to ignore international law and even pressure from the United States allows it to decide who gets a permit to develop their economic base. When Palestinians try to develop their land, their constructions are pulled down, their trees are uprooted, their solar arrays for energy are confiscated.
Palestine needs to be recognised, to give it a measure of international standing and some ability to stand up to its greedy and bullying neighbour.
David Rothfield, Black Rock, Vic – AFR (10/7/17)