Rights group says Israel trying to eliminate Palestinian nationhood

Jerusalem - The Israeli rights group B Tselem has accused Israel of attempting to eliminate Palestinian nationhood through a series of interconnected tactics in the occupied West Bank. In a report titled "The Elimination Project," B Tselem outlined five policies they claim form part of this broader project: violence, ethnic cleansing, movement restrictions, economic strangulation, and social and political destruction.

According to the report, Israeli violence against Palestinians has resulted in 1,108 deaths since October 7, 2023. The group also accused Israel of forcing Palestinians to leave their homes through ethnic cleansing, a process that has left dozens of small, isolated communities in recent years. Additionally, B Tselem noted that movement restrictions enforced by military checkpoints and over 900 gates at the entrances of Palestinian towns and villages are impeding the daily lives of Palestinians.

B Tselem's executive director, Yuli Novak, emphasized that these policies collectively "dismantle the conditions Palestinians need to continue living here as a people." While Novak acknowledged the historical Jewish connection to the land, she insisted the report is not denying that connection but rather describing a political project.

Novak further stated that the outcome of Israel's upcoming legislative elections next month would not significantly impact this broader policy, as the government inherited and accelerated a violent political system built over decades.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's current government, one of the most right-wing in Israel's history, has accelerated this system by legalizing and approving 104 new settlements in the West Bank. Despite these settlements being illegal under international law, Netanyahu's government has continued to expand them. The West Bank, with a size comparable to the US state of Delaware, is home to over 500,000 Israeli settlers alongside three million Palestinians.