Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, a former senior official with the Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.
On Tuesday, November 9th, I joined the first West Bank settlement tour organized by Peace Now since the onset of
the COVID-19 pandemic. Co-sponsored by the Geneva Initiative, it was organized for diplomats stationed in Israel
and it attracted some twenty diplomats from foreign embassies and consulates.
These settlement tours are a staple of APN’s annual study tours to Israel and the West Bank. Having organized the
study tours for almost fifteen years, I knew the route and recognized the storyline of the tour guide, Peace Now's
Settlement Watch Co-Director, Hagit Ofran.
But despite the familiarity, every time I join one of Hagit's tours I learn something new. Every time, I am
devastated by the depth of the de facto annexation process caused by the settlements and their disastrous impact on
future prospects for achieving Israeli-Palestinian peace.
Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, a former senior official with the Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.
Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, a former senior official with the Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.
Israel’s Civil Administration is currently holding hearings to review objections to settlement plans in E-1. This is one of the few remaining stages before settlement construction will be allowed to commence.
There’s a reason the proposed settlements in E-1 have been called “doomsday settlements.” If Israel allows the plans to be enacted it would threaten the territorial contiguity necessary for a viable independent Palestinian state by dividing the north of the West Bank from the south, as well as the West Bank from East Jerusalem. E-1 is a vital corridor for Palestinian communal life, connecting Ramallah and the northern West Bank to Bethlehem and the southern West Bank.
Our colleagues at Peace Now have filed objections to the plans in Israel, and now it is our turn to back them up. Representative Mark Pocan is leading a letter urging the Biden Administration to weigh in and use diplomatic pressure to halt Israel’s approval process of E-1 settlements.
This action closed on Friday, November 19.
Last week, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz declared that six prominent Palestinian rights groups — Al Haq; Addameer; Defense For Children International-Palestine; Bisan; the Union of Agricultural Work Committees; and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees — were “terrorist organizations.”
As the Association of Civil Rights in Israel notes, “neither evidence nor proof of the serious charge have been provided.” Unfortunately, Palestinian civil society and human rights organizations have long faced such spurious accusations from certain Israeli politicians and right-wing commentators. But the consequences of these designations from the Defense Ministry are much more severe and alarming. Employees, activists, donors, and others affiliated with these organizations are now potentially subject to prosecution.
We, the undersigned, support the two-state solution. We want to see a safe, secure, and democratic Israel living side-by-side with a viable and independent Palestine. While we believe that negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian leadership remain the best possible path to ending the occupation, we also state unequivocally that Palestinians have a right to nonviolently resist and oppose the occupation.
The organizations targeted by the Defense Ministry are doing just that. While we may not agree with every single statement and objective of these groups, we cannot afford to be silent in light of this naked attempt at suppression. Supporters of a liberal and democratic Israel have an obligation to speak out against this decision.
We call on the Israeli government to reverse the designations, and for Israel’s friends and allies in the world to actively encourage it to do so.
Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, a former senior official with the Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.
Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, a former senior official with the Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.
