US Army officers carried out a visit of the occupied West Bank city of Hebron (Al-Khalil) last week, led by the spokesmen of the city’s illegal Jewish settlements, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Wednesday.
The full-day tour, organized by the office of Israeli Major General Yehuda Fuchs, was led by far-right settlement spokesman Noam Arnon.
The Israeli military, which receives $3.8B from the US every year, gives the US military a tour of an illegally occupied Palestinian city, led by Israeli settlers who are violently forcing Palestinians from their homes.
Does it get more blatant? https://t.co/fROPjc43rO
— Jewish Voice for Peace Action (@JvpAction) January 12, 2022
The tour did not include any Palestinian representatives and included a visit to areas inhabited by illegal Jewish settlers.
According to Haaretz, “the responsibilities of the US officers who participated in the tour include training Palestinian security forces.”
On November 28, newly-elected Israeli President, Isaac Herzog, stormed the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron with hundreds of Israeli soldiers and many illegal Jewish settlers.
Welcome to Hebron to the Israel Defense Forces who came to learn about Jewish history. Dr. Noam Arnon discussed the importance of the Tomb of the Patriarchs & Matriarchs. pic.twitter.com/9B0WuBe78B
— Jewish Community of Hebron – Hebron Fund (@TheHebronFund1) January 3, 2022
The situation in the Palestinian city of Hebron is particularly difficult. According to the Geneva International Centre for Justice, “about 600 settlers are living in the heart of the city, with a military presence of about 1500 soldiers. These settlers are among the most ideologically-motivated, and heavily armed of all West Bank settlers.”
The Centre also highlights that “all Israeli settlements in the heart of Hebron City are illegal under international humanitarian law.”
(The Palestine Chronicle)
