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November 11, 2021 10:40 am
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Thousands of Israelis Live in Area A, But No One Condemns Them — Because They Aren’t Jewish

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avatar by Elder of Ziyon

Opinion

An aerial view of the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

When do the United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Students for Justice for Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace, J Street, and so many others, not condemn Israeli citizens living in the West Bank?

When they’re Arabs, of course.

From Haaretz:

Rawabi markets itself as a unifier of Palestinian interests and an actionable road map for statehood…

Located in Area A — placing it, on paper at least, under full control of the Palestinian Authority — and situated some 35 minutes north of Ramallah, construction began here in 2010, financed initially by the Palestinian-American entrepreneur Bashar Masri and aided by substantial Qatari funds.

During a recent visit, I sat down with the city’s first-ever mayor, Ibrahim Natour.

Asked about the presence and role of the Arab Israeli population in the city, Natour hastens to correct me: “We’re not looking at them as Arab Israelis: they’re Palestinians. To be Palestinian is not about having an [Israeli] ID card. I’m Palestinian, but I’m from Jerusalem. We don’t discriminate.”

Despite early hopes of attracting as many as 40,000 residents, Rawabi’s current population sits at a somewhat meager 5,000, of whom 70 percent consider the city their permanent home. A municipal official described the other 30 percent as “weekend/vacation” visitors. Except for wealthier Palestinians holding dual citizenship, it stands to reason that many of them are Arab Israelis — the only ones capable of passing through the border crossings uninhibited.

Any way you count it, thousands of Arab Israelis own houses and live at least part time in Area A — under Palestinian control.

They are “settlers” — in an area where Jews aren’t allowed.

Ken Roth of Human Rights Watch has said, “Each transfer of a settler to occupied territory is a war crime.”

Both Jews and Arabs voluntarily moved to the West Bank. But Roth only considers it a “war crime” if the residents are Jewish.

There is a term for that — antisemitic racism.

The Israeli Arabs who live in Rawabi can vote in Israeli elections — just like the Jews who live less than ten kilometers away in Shiloh or Eli. They can drive on every road in the West Bank — not only the mythical “Jewish-only roads,” but the “Arab” roads as well.

But the “Arab” roads are off-limit to Jews.

The more you look at the “apartheid” claim against Israel, the more you see that it is prompted by its own bigotry — against Jews and only Jews.

Elder of Ziyon has been blogging about Israel and the Arab world for a really long time now. He also controls the world, but deep down, you already knew that.

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