Israeli High Court criticises authorities for inaction on settler violence in West Bank

Israeli High Court justices expressed frustration during a hearing yesterday at the lack of action by Israeli occupation authorities to address ongoing settler violence in the southern West Bank.

According to the Times of Israel, the session focused on a petition filed by residents of Khirbet Zanuta, a Palestinian village, accusing the Israeli occupation forces, Israel Police and the Defence Ministry of defying court orders to safeguard them from repeated settler attacks.

Residents of Khirbet Zanuta had fled their homes in late October 2023 due to relentless violence targeting both them and the village’s infrastructure carried out by extremist settlers. While the High Court later mandated the Israeli army and police to facilitate the villagers’ return, which occurred on 21 August, renewed attacks and continued neglect by security forces have forced many to leave again.

Lawyers representing Khirbet Zanuta provided the High Court with photographic evidence showing settlers from the illegal outpost of Meitarim Farm harassing Palestinian villagers. The images expose settlers filming Palestinians inside their homes and disturbing their livestock.

During the hearing, Acting Supreme Court President Isaac Amit slammed the table and rebuked police representatives, stating:“Not a single indictment has been filed. We see settlers inside their homes. Nothing has been done.”

Lawyers for Khirbet Zanuta submitted a motion to the High Court, including photos showing Israeli soldiers confiscating blankets used by Palestinian villagers to cover their damaged homes and removing fencing around the village. The evidence argued that the security forces are capable of complying with court orders to protect the residents but lack the will to do so.

The motion also included a legal position paper by prominent Israeli legal scholars, stating that the actions of the IDF, police, and Civil Administration amounted to the forcible transfer of the village’s residents, a violation of international law and potentially a war crime under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Khirbet Zanuta’s residents fled the village in October 2023 amid escalating settler violence in Area C of the occupied West Bank. During their absence, many homes were destroyed or damaged, and an EU-funded school was bulldozed. Despite a High Court order on 29 July for the Israeli occupation army and police to facilitate their return, Israeli settlers and authorities continued to violate the Palestinian villagers’ process to resettle.

Some residents returned on 21 August, but less than three weeks later, they were threatened with demolition orders from 2007 unless they agreed to relocate. By 12 September, all villagers had left again due to ongoing settler attacks and the demolition threats.

The Haqel legal aid organisation filed a contempt of court request on 18 September, accusing Israeli authorities and local settlers of imposing  a “second transfer” of the residents, which they described as deliberate and premeditated.

“During all the weeks in which the residents of Zanuta tried to return to their homes following the High Court ruling, they were persecuted without mercy by the settlers and the respondents, and ultimately were expelled for a second time,” Haqel wrote.

“Over 100 incidents of harassment were recorded” in the three weeks between the residents’ return to the village and second exit, “in real time as well as after the fact,” but police failed to respond to any of them, Haqel charged.

In addition to failing to provide protection, Haqel claimed that the Israeli Civil Administration denied villagers permission to repair homes damaged during settler attacks after they fled in October 2023.

The Haqel filing forms part of a broader contempt of court motion alleging that Israeli authorities and settlers worked to undermine the Palestinian villagers’ ability to remain in Khirbet Zanuta, leading to their forced second departure.

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