West Bank settlers defiant in the face of unprecedented legal action

Despite UN court ruling Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories illegal, settlers remain undeterred

Israeli settlements are expanding in the occupied West Bank. AFP

Standing at the front of Havat Gilad’s synagogue with a young son trailing around his legs, Yehuda Shimon extolled the benefits of living with a vast family in a small shack on one of the occupied West Bank's most rugged, ideological settlements.

“It’s a very quiet, happy place with lots of nature,” the lawyer said.

Mr Shimon, a hard-line Israeli settler, is willing to raise a family on Palestinian land that is illegally occupied in the eyes of the vast majority of the international community but not to the Israeli state.

Israelis choose to live in occupied Palestinian territories for many reasons. Many settlers say they view living here as their religious duty to expand Jewish presence.

“It’s important to live here because so many around the world say this area is not the place of the Jews, but this is a Jewish nation,” Mr Shimon argues.

There are now about 700,000 settlers in Palestinian territory, widely viewed as one of the biggest impediments to a two-state solution, which most countries support as the best way to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Since October 7, there have been near-daily incidents of settler violence against Palestinians, from murders to the displacement of entire communities.

There has also been an increased rate of Palestinian attacks on Israelis in the occupied territories.

But despite the new dangers, many settlers, such as Mr Shimon, have no plans to leave.

“We are the sons of Avraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov and we came from the Bible. I honestly think people are jealous of this.”

Sanctions and ICJ ruling

But even Israel’s long-standing allies are growing frustrated with the violent actions of some settlers, with countries such as the US, UK and France issuing sanctions on Israeli citizens and organisations they deem connected to the violence.

Mauricio Lapchik, of anti-Israeli settler NGO Peace Now, said sanctions against individuals “do not significantly change the situation on the ground because they target extremists and radicals who don’t care what the world says”.

“The measures might prevent entrance to foreign countries, but these people often don’t travel anyway,” he said.

Financial measures are more worrying for the Israeli government “because the US is deeply connected to banking in Israel”, he added, saying some Israeli politicians are now trying to find ways to work around them.

“There are currently attempts in the Knesset to oblige Israeli banks to keep working with sanctioned people, even though it is extremely risky for the banks.”

Reports suggest there are likely to be new rounds of sanctions, affecting a broader range of Israelis, settler organisations and possibly larger institutions as well, such as universities and industries in the occupied West Bank.

On top of the international sanctions, the UN’s top court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), ruled last week that Israel has been unlawfully present in the occupied Palestinians territories for 57 years.

Mr Shimon, who knows some of the sanctioned Israelis, dismissed both the measures imposed and the ICJ ruling, much like many of the settlers The National met on a recent reporting trip had done.

“A lot of my friends have been sanctioned. Nothing happened. They wake up in the morning, eat something, pray and do exactly what they did before. I think it’s ridiculous,” he said.

“International law only pipes up when something happens in Israel, not in Somalia, not in Catalonia, Ukraine, Russia or Germany. It’s a joke. It’s a lie. There’s no international law.”

A short drive away, a group of women from the outpost of Evyatar buzzed with excitement as children kicked footballs and rode bikes around the dusty hilltop.

Their settlement has just been legalised by the Israeli government, along with four others.

Detritus littered the ground, left after a massive rally to celebrate the legalisation which was attended by government politicians, many of whom rely on settlers' votes.

“These sanctions are just a new form of anti-Semitism,” said Serah Lisson, a small-business owner who lives on the outpost.

“Throughout the last 2,000 years, Jews have been sanctioned by various nations.”

Like Mr Shimon, she does not believe in international law and insists Jews have a historical right to the land.

“After 2,000 years we came back to our country. We live here because it’s our country, it’s that simple,” she said.

Shortly after the interview, Palestinians in nearby villages reported being attacked by settlers. It was unclear from where the attackers came, but there have been many reports of violence from Evyatar’s residents.

In the more manicured settlement of Ariel, mayor Yair Chetboun sat at his desk in front of a massive image.

A satellite view showed green land punctured with brown areas where construction is taking place on Ariel. Winding roads wrapped around apartment buildings, which had already been sold even though they are still being built, the mayor said.

“These neighbourhoods will double the size of Ariel,” he explained.

“I think that in 10 years our population will be 40,000 people and in 20 years, 80,000.”

Close to Tel Aviv and with a major industrial park and a leading university, Ariel is a far easier place to live than Havat Gilad or Evyatar.

It also means its advanced economy is far more exposed to more international sanctions.

“There is a real danger that sanctions could affect Ariel,” Mr Chetboun said, sitting next to the head of the settlement’s chamber of commerce, who nodded along in agreement.

“It’s a scandal because it affects our very sovereignty. It is essentially the US telling Israel that it has the final say in what we do in our land,” he added.

“We’re having lots of conversations about this with the government. They understand the problem and think like me about it.”

Despite increasing challenges the settlers' movement is having, Mr Chetboun remains confident it will weather the storm.

“We can manage the sanctions, it might take a few months to adjust but we will.”

Mr Lapchik said the most effective way countries can put pressure on the settlement project is by challenging it at a state level.

“At the end of the day, the Israeli state should be responsible for criminal Israeli individual acts in occupied territories. There’s no other real solution than going for the Israeli government,” he said.

“We’re in a very dangerous position vis-a-vis the settlements. We believe it is our responsibly to recognise the mistakes and crimes our people are committing, to guarantee our security and very existence in the future,” he added.

“That is the only way we can start a future of equality and justice, and then one day focus on peace.”