“It is farcical to suggest a distinction between settler and state violence: They are part of the same settler-colonial structure, and not only complement each other but depend on one another.”

—Fathi Nimer, The West Bank: Settler Colonial Spillover of the Gaza Genocide

While Israel continues its brutal genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, armed Israeli settlers, backed by the Israeli government, continue to expand illegal settlements in the West Bank. Our new visual captures how the Israeli government has transferred hundreds of thousands of guns and other weapons to Israeli settlers since October 7, as settler violence against Palestinian communities skyrockets with impunity.

On August 15, 2024, the Israeli government approved a new illegal settlement on a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Palestinian village of Battir near Bethlehem. On August 16, a mob of armed Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian towns of Jit and Huwara, shooting a resident dead, injuring others, torching cars, and destroying property. In the first six months of 2024, there were an average of four incidents per day of Israeli settlers attacking and terrorizing Palestinians in the West Bank.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) recently ordered Israel “to end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible,” including by immediately ceasing all new settlement activity, evacuating existing settlements, and paying reparations to Palestinians. The ICJ emphasized that “all states are obligated not to recognize as legal the situation arising from Israel’s unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” Furthermore, states must refrain from providing any aid or assistance that would perpetuate this situation.

The call for a military embargo on Israel addresses both Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its escalating colonial violence in the West Bank, two arenas in one settler colonial project. Help us spread awareness by using this visual to demand accountability for Israel’s continued illegal occupation of the West Bank and the rise of Israeli settler violence.

In solidarity,
The VP team