Dr. Ashrawi: Israeli annexation pace is escalating and state-sanctioned settler terrorism on the rise
Palestinian spokesperson Hanan Ashrawi accuses Israel’s rightwing government of escalating the annexation of civilian Palestinian, non-Jewish lands to build racist settlements in the Occupied West Bank and Occupied East Jerusalem and of enabling state-sanctions settler terrorism
Dr. Hanan Ashrawi on Wednesday, March 11, 2020 criticized Israel’s government for enabling state-sanction settler terrorism against Christian and Muslim Palestinian civilians and escalating the annexation of civilian Palestinian lands to build more racist settlements.
“As the international community seeks to cooperate in combating the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Israel is exploiting the situation to expedite de facto annexation of Palestinian land while providing protection and cover to armed Israeli settlers in their terror attacks against defenseless Palestinian communities across the occupied West Bank.
As part of its escalating plans to enforce the notorious E1 settlement project, Israel has further announced the construction of a new apartheid road near the illegal settlement of “Maale Adumim,” despite international warnings that this project will annex large areas around occupied Jerusalem and would destroy the territorial contiguity of Palestine.
Longtime non-violence advocate and peace activist, Palestinian Leader Dr. Hanan Ashrawi. Photo courtesy of the PLO
Concurrently, Israeli settlers have sharply increased their terrorist attacks throughout the occupied West Bank under the protection of Israeli occupation forces. Most recently, Israeli settlers have repeatedly raided Mount Al-‘Orma near Nablus in an attempt to take over the area with the active participation of the Israeli army. The Palestinians of Beita-Nablus have faced repeated assaults with courage and determination despite the great cost and suffering they have endured. The latest victim of this escalation is 15-year-old Mohammed Hamayel who was shot and killed by Israeli live fire. Additionally, scores of injuries and cases of suffocation were reported, caused by Israeli army and settler attacks.
Furthermore, the closed-off Bethlehem area, which is the epicenter of Palestine’s COVID-19 outbreak and under strict measures of quarantine, has been targeted by Israeli settlers who uprooted at least 1,200 olive and vine trees as part of their ongoing environmental terrorism. At the same time, the Israeli army stepped up the expansion of the massive settlement bloc of “Gush Etzion” to complete the siege and isolation of occupied Jerusalem.
While the world is preoccupied with combating the dangerous spread of the lethal virus, one must not ignore the toxic Israeli campaign seeking to destroy Palestinian statehood and the chances of peace.”
Ray Hanania is an award winning political and humor columnist who analyzes American and Middle East politics, and life in general. He is an author of several books.
Hanania covered Chicago Politics and Chicago City Hall from 1976 through 1992 at the Daily Southtown and the Chicago Sun-Times. He began writing in 1975 publishing The Middle Eastern Voice newspaper in Chicago (1975-1977). He later published “The National Arab American Times” newspaper (2004-2007).
Hanania writes weekly columns on Middle East and American Arab issues as Special US Correspondent for the Arab News ArabNews.com, at TheArabDailyNews.com, and at SuburbanChicagoland.com. He has published weekly columns in the Jerusalem Post newspaper, YNetNews.com, Newsday, the Orlando Sentinel, Houston Chronical, and Arlington Heights Daily Herald.
Hanania is the recipient of four (4) Chicago Headline Club “Peter Lisagor Awards” for Column writing. In November 2006, he was named “Best Ethnic American Columnist” by the New American Media. In 2009, Hanania received the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award for Writing from the Society of Professional Journalists. He is the recipient of the MT Mehdi Courage in Journalism Award. He was honored for his writing skills with two (2) Chicago Stick-o-Type awards from the Chicago Newspaper Guild. In 1990, Hanania was nominated by the Chicago Sun-Times editors for a Pulitzer Prize for his four-part series on the Palestinian Intifada.
His writings have also been honored by two national Awards from ADC for his writing, and from the National Arab American Journalists Association.
Hanania is the US Special Correspondent for the Arab News Newspaper, covering Middle East and Arab American issues. He writes for the Southwest News newspaper group writing on mainstream American issues.
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