Extreme Zionist settlers banned from entering UK

The British Foreign Secretary David Cameron on Thursday declared a ban on extreme Zionist settlers accused of violence against Palestinians entering the UK. [1]

Contents

Disturbing surge in violence against Palestinians Israeli ambassador rejects two-state solution Illegal settlements are a contagion Analysis Also read

Lord Cameron — who, as the former Prime Minister, is viewed by some commentators as a safe pair of hands for the embattled Conservative party — made the announcement on X. [1]

“Extremist settlers, by targeting and killing Palestinian civilians, are undermining security and stability for both Israelis and Palestinians. Israel must take stronger action to stop settler violence and hold the perpetrators accountable.

“We are banning those responsible for settler violence from entering the UK to make sure our country cannot be a home for people who commit these intimidating acts.” [1]

On Monday, the Foreign Office Minister Andrew Mitchell disclosed to Parliament that Cameron had recently discussed the prospect of travel bans with the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, thus signalling a collaborative effort to address this issue.

Disturbing surge in violence against Palestinians

As the international community’s focus is on Gaza and the genocide unfolding there, escalating violence is being witnessed against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Figures reveal a massive surge in settler attacks within the Israeli-occupied West Bank, more than doubling since the 7 October counteroffensive by Hamas.

According to the UN, 265 of the 464 Palestinians killed in the West Bank in 2023 were killed following the events of 7 October. [2]

1,000 Palestinians have also had their homes and land forcibly stolen from them by extreme Zionist settlers. [2]

Lynn Hastings, UN Resident and Humanitarian Co-ordinator in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said of the crisis,

“In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, unprecedented levels of Israeli state and settler violence against Palestinians, their displacement, movement restrictions, arbitrary detention and ill-treatment, have been reported in 2023 and compound the already discriminatory and coercive environment.” [2]

Israeli ambassador rejects two-state solution

Around the same time that Lord Cameron made his announcement, the Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, rejected any future proposal of a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine. [3]

Hotovely, in an interview with Sky News, said there would be no attempt to revive the two-state solution once her apartheid state’s genocidal attack on Gaza ended. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak disagreed with her remarks with Cameron describing them as “disappointing”. [3]

In stark contrast to Hotovely’s revealing interview, the UK, EU, US, and the wider international community continue to champion a two-state solution.

For many decades, however, such a proposal has been practically impossible due to the continued theft of Palestinian land as well as the continued criminalisation, dehumanisation, and murder of the Palestinian people.

Illegal settlements are a contagion

Tzipi Hotovely herself is an ultra-right-wing politician. Immediately prior to becoming the Ambassador to the UK, she was the Israeli Minister for Settlement Affairs.

She has played a major role in advancing the construction of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The latter has been declared illegal under international law.

Israel's UK ambassador, @TzipiHotovely, was previously minister for settlements.

She was instrumental in advocating + driving policy.

Like settlers, she rejects Palestinian claims to any of the West Bank, Gaza or E. Jerusalem

Will the government be taking action against her?
— Islam21c (@Islam21c) December 14, 2023

Established on land occupied by Israel during the 1967 war, these settlements obviously contradict Palestinian aspirations for a future independent state. Despite being internationally recognised as illegal, they continue to expand and, in the process, rob Palestinians of their land.

As the UK imposes travel bans against extreme settlers, a critical lens must also be cast on the British government’s ongoing financial and military support to the state of Israel as it continues to engage in murderous acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people.

Will this ban extend to Ambassador Hotovely, who has been instrumental in the creation of illegal settlements and the brutal violence enacted against Palestinians by extreme and violent settlers?

Analysis

ANALYSIS

Shaheer Choudhury

Head of Editorial

It was surprising to see Lord Cameron's announcement that extreme Zionist settlers would be banned from entering the UK, given the government's absolute backing for Netanyahu's murderous rampage in Gaza.

However, it is nonetheless a welcome step and one that other world leaders appear to be considering as well. The narrative is definitely changing and the truth is prevailing over the barrage of falsehood that the Zionist regime has pummelled out in the past ten weeks.

As for the comments made by the Israeli Ambassador to the UK, it is interesting that she rejects the notion of a two-state solution, because I would suggest that most people view a one-state solution as the original and only sensible approach. In this sense, it seems to be a point of agreement.

The region flourished for centuries under this system, perhaps now is the time for such a structure to be re-established.