Background:

The illegal Israeli settlement enterprise, including settler-only bypass roads, military checkpoints, and the annexation wall, continues to expand and steal more Palestinian land and resources.

As of today, the number of illegal Israeli settlements and settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is around 300, while the number of Jewish Israeli settlers residing in them is close to 700,000.

The settlers are a primary and direct source of danger that targets Palestinian lives and property on a daily basis. The violence manifests in various forms, including shootings, night raids, burning of farmland, cutting down trees, and damaging property. Israeli settler terrorism is backed by the state, as these attacks take place in the presence of Israeli occupation forces who often join the settlers.

The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH) and the Women’s Center for Legal and Counseling (WCLAC) collected testimonies from women and documented acts of violence, focusing on isolated agricultural and Bedouin areas and communities while highlighting the suffering of Palestinians, particularly women and children.

Israeli state-sanctioned settler terrorism continues unabated across occupied Palestine. Such violence is systematic and affects all aspects of Palestinian life, with a particular impact on women and children. The international community's failure to intervene and put an end to Israeli crimes and human rights violations fuels this culture of impunity.

Recommendations:

To help protect Palestinians, MIFTAH urges the international community to:

• Hold Israel accountable for its persistent war crimes and human rights violations through effective and concrete measures
• Stop all relations and trade with illegal Israeli settlements including international companies that profiteer from them
• Support the investigation of the International Criminal Court in occupied Palestine
• Implement UNSC Resolution 1325 which calls for ending violence against women and Israel's impunity
• Criminalize and blacklist Israeli settler groups that engage in terrorist activities and hold those with dual citizenship accountable in their respective states

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