3rd Thursday Action Alert: Call on President Trump to prevent Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank
After two years of a devastating military campaign in Gaza, almost the entire 2.3 million Palestinians there are displaced, with over half of the Gaza Strip militarily occupied by Israel. In the meantime, Palestinians in the West Bank continue to experience an intensified military occupation with hundreds of checkpoints preventing the free movement of people, continued military assaults, massive displacement of Palestinian refugees, and violent settler attacks who are armed by the state, which have been condemned by church leaders there and identified as state violence by the Israeli human rights organization, B’Tselem. A bill in the US House of Representatives (H.Res. 3045) to codify sanctions on known violent settlers currently has 109 cosponsors.
There are approximately 800,000 Israeli settlers living in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Settlement construction and expansion are illegal under international law, yet Israel continues to approve more and more settlements. The US position on settlements has shifted in recent years and under recent Administrations.
The mayor of Beit Sahour, Dr. Elias Iseed, recently sent a letter urging advocacy on this issue. Writing of the threat of a new Israeli settlement in Osh Ghurab, Dr. Iseed says that, if constructed, it “will have severe consequences. This settlement is not simply a construction project—it is an act of dispossession.” The proposed settlement, to be built near the YMCA of Beit Sahour, would disrupt community life in Beit Sahour, displace Palestinians there, cut off north-south movement in the West Bank, and likely lead to even more violent settler attacks on the people of Beit Sahour. Dr. Iseed writes, “Human Rights Watch has already documented forced displacement of Palestinian families, describing the situation as a crime against humanity, which is now reaching the peaceful city of Beit Sahour.
Beit Sahour is near Betlehem in the West Bank, and is known as Shepherd’s Field, where in the Biblical account of the Christmas story, “there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night….. [and where] the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2: 8&10).
In this season of Advent, when Christians recite and remember the Christmas story, contact the White House and urge the Trump Administration to demand that Israel curtail the construction of illegal settlements, including this one in Beit Sahour, require that Israel ends settler violence against Palestinians, and impose sanctions for continued violations.
Sample letter:
Dear President Trump,
As the Gaza peace proposal moves toward possible implementation of its second phase, I am deeply concerned about the well-being of Palestinians in Gaza, and Israel’s intensified military occupation of the West Bank, with hundreds of checkpoints preventing the free movement of people, continued Israeli military assaults, massive displacement of Palestinian refugees, and violent settler attacks. Church leaders there have condemned those attacks.
Even so, Israeli settlement construction and expansion continues – illegally under international law. For example, in Beit Sahour, where the angel announced to the shepherds the birth of Jesus, a new settlement is planned that would disrupt community life, displace Palestinians there, cut off north-south movement in the West Bank, and likely lead to even more violent settler attacks on the people of the community, according to Beit Sahour’s mayor.
As a person of faith, I write to you to urge your Administration to demand that Israel curtail the construction of illegal settlements, including the one in Beit Sahour, require that Israel ends settler violence against Palestinians, and support sanctions for continued violations.
Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.
Sincerely,