Haaretz newspaper reported – in its main editorial – that the farms of Jewish settlers have grown in recent years like mushrooms after the rain, until their number reached 90 outposts, and they have become the forefront of the “thievish and violent” settlement project that aims to expel Palestinians from their lands and homes.
The newspaper said that an investigative report, which it had published on October 11, revealed that settler farms have become hotbeds for theft and violence against Palestinians, and are receiving special treatment by the Israeli authorities through the budgets allocated to them and recognition of their legitimacy.
She described the spread of these farms as a means to expel the Palestinians by spreading the smallest possible number of settlers over the largest possible area, and the main tool for achieving this is herds of sheep and teenage boys.
The spread of settler farms is a means of expelling the Palestinians by spreading the smallest possible number of settlers over the largest possible area, and the main tool for achieving this is flocks of sheep and teenage boys.
It quoted settler leader Zeev Hever (nicknamed Zambish) as saying that the lands occupied by these farms “are two and a half times larger than the area occupied by hundreds of settlements.”
Behind the term “settler farms” – which Haaretz describes as a deceptive term – lies a dark reality, as many Palestinians and left-wing Jewish activists have reported violent attacks and threats that have prompted Palestinians to flee for their lives.
Generous financing
Although these settlement outposts are considered a tool of violence used in harassment and displacement, the Israeli government funds them generously and practically supports the deployment of these young teenage settlers in dangerous locations, according to the newspaper.
The editorial pointed out that many young people are exposed to social risks and are being exploited as vanguards of violence against Palestinians. She explained that in doing so, the state not only harms the Palestinians, but also directs these young men towards the path of political violence and breaking laws.
The newspaper also revealed that the Ministries of Settlement, Education, Agriculture, Defense, and Negev and Galilee Affairs contribute to this “prosperous” settlement project, directly or indirectly.
Some of these ministries provide security services, “without which these farms would not exist,” while others provide support through non-profit organizations such as Hashomer Bush or Artzino, whose volunteers are the fuel on which these farms operate. The Jewish National Fund also funds programs for young people on these farms, who are in effect soldiers in a war aimed at “cleansing the land” of its Arab inhabitants, in the words of the editorial.
These organizations legitimize their stay there, with the help of a government program implemented by social workers working in the regions.
Haaretz pointed out that the names of the farm owners are included in the US sanctions lists, but none of them were affected by them inside Israel, noting that government officials were quick to visit these farms to express their solidarity with their owners.
She warned that the ministries’ active support for this settlement project not only indicates injustice against the Palestinians, but also endangers “the Israeli state – which is already facing serious problems before the International Criminal Court in The Hague – as well as the ‘minor’ boys who live on these farms.”
