"Your coverage of the unabated settlement expansion in the West Bank, land that is internationally recognized as being Palestinian land occupied by Israel in 1967, provides your readers with the necessary context in understanding the obstacles to peace that the Israeli government continues to lay down."
July 14, 2023
To:
Henriette Chacar, Journalist, Reuters
Alistair Bell, Journalist, Reuters
Steve Bartlett, Senior Managing Editor, Saltwire
Bradley Works, Managing Editor, Saltwire
Dear Ms. Chacar, Mr. Bell, Mr. Works, and Mr. Bartlett,
I’m writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, https://www.cjpme.org) to express my appreciation regarding your coverage of Israeli settlement expansion “Israel advances peak number of West Bank settlement plans..” as published in Saltwire on July 13, 2023.
Your coverage of the unabated settlement expansion in the West Bank, land that is internationally recognized as being Palestinian land occupied by Israel in 1967, provides your readers with the necessary context in understanding the obstacles to peace that the Israeli government continues to lay down.
I want to draw specific attention to your paragraph that uses apartheid as context:
“According to the United Nations, some 700,000 settlers live in 279 settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, up from 520,000 in 2012. More than 3 million Palestinians who live in the same area are subjected to Israeli military rule that some rights groups say amounts to apartheid.”
It is useful and informative to mention that human rights groups describe Israel as an apartheid state. CJPME applauds and encourages this inclusion. Furthermore, mentioning the impact that these new settlements have on the lives of the more than 3 million Palestinians in the West Bank is important as it highlights the difficulties that they encounter. Pock-marking the West Bank with more and more of these settlements is quickly making the idea of a contiguous, viable future Palestinian state an impossibility.
Should you wish to discuss this further, please do not hesitate to contact me at 438-3805410.
Sincerely,
Mohamed Khalaf
Director of Strategic Operations, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East