The Arab Organisation for Human Rights in Britain (AOHR) has revealed that illegal Jewish settlers and the Israeli occupation forces let loose wild pigs on Palestinians in the occupied territories. The organisation notes that this is part of the settlers’ efforts to drive the Palestinians from their land in an act of ethnic cleansing.
According to the human rights group, the pigs generally begin their “task” at sunset; Palestinian residents living near the illegal settlements are usually taken by surprise when they are attacked by groups of the pigs, which go on to damage their crops and terrorise their children.
The report added that this tactic has been used by the settlers for more than eight years despite Palestinian appeals to the occupation authorities to provide them with chemical deterrents to the animals. The Israeli authorities have ignored the appeals.
The statement pointed out that Israeli soldiers watch the settlers burn Palestinians’ crops, uproot olive trees, shoot civilians, occupy houses and control private land. They do nothing to stop settlers’ criminality, including the use of the wild pigs. “The eradication of the pigs requires trained teams to use toxic bait and other means that need external support in light of the Israelis’ deliberate refusal to provide any assistance.”
The report went on, “In the recent past the European Union condemned the practices of the settlers in the Occupied Territories, practices that amount to crimes against humanity, without specifying specific ways to stop these crimes. The inhabitants of the occupied territories have lost the protection to which they are entitled by the Geneva Conventions and international law, as the international community is standing by watching the brutal crimes committed by the Israelis and illegal settlers.”
The AOHR called on international organisations to intervene to help the civilians suffering under the Israeli occupation, stressing that it is unacceptable for the international community not to use the humanitarian tools in its possession, such as the Geneva Conventions, to stop Israel’s violations and human rights abuses against the Palestinians.