Jonathan Ofir<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Classical Israel apologia portrays the country as a liberal democracy forced to defend itself against hostile Palestinians as its liberal founders held back radical right-wing Zionists who agitated for more aggressive expansion and settlement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A new bombshell article<\/a> in Haaretz<\/em> blows this narrative out of the water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The article, \u201cIsrael Poisoned Palestinian Land to Build West Bank Settlement in 1970s, Documents Reveal,\u201d by Ofer Aderet, tells the story of the dispossession of the Palestinian village of Aqraba, about three miles from Huwwara<\/a> in the northern West Bank. Aqraba\u2019s lands were coveted for the purpose of establishing a new Jewish settlement, Gitit. In the end, 83% of the lands of Aqraba, then a village of 4,000 people, were confiscated by Israel, reducing them from 145,000 dunams (36,000 acres) to 25,000 dunams (6,000 acres). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here is how the Israelis did it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018The first step was dispossessing residents of the nearby Palestinian village of their land under the false pretext of making it a military training zone. When the Palestinians insisted on cultivating the land, Israeli soldiers sabotaged their tools. Soldiers were later ordered to use vehicles to destroy the crops. A radical solution was employed when this failed: a crop duster spread a toxic chemical. The substance was lethal for animals and dangerous for humans.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The poisoning of the crops was not a vigilante act. It was carefully planned and did not only involve military actors, but it also involved the parastatal Jewish Agency: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018A discussion held at [the army\u2019s] Central Command [in April 1972] with the participation of officers, a representative of the settlements department at the Jewish Agency, and the Custodian of Absentee Property was titled \u201cSpraying the irregular areas in the Tel-Tal sector.\u201d Tel-Tal eventually became Gitit\u2026 According to the document, the purpose of the meeting was to establish \u201cresponsibility and schedule for the spraying.\u201d It also stated that for three days after the spraying, no one was to enter the area \u201cfor fear of stomach poisoning.\u201d Animals, the document said, were not allowed to enter for an additional week\u2026 Another meeting was held later that month. \u201cThere is no objection from this command to carrying out the spraying as planned,\u201d read the minutes. \u201cThe Custodian of Absentee Property will see to it that the area\u2019s borders are marked accurately and will direct the plane accordingly.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n This was Israel under Prime Minister Golda Meir. Not Netanyahu, not Itamar Ben-Gvir, not Bezalel Smotrich \u2013 liberal icon<\/a> Golda Meir. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Did this poisoning operation get much attention? Aderet notes \u201cthe story briefly made headlines in 1972 when it was reported in foreign media.\u201d Alas, \u201cit didn\u2019t prevent the establishment of the settlement of Gitit on land confiscated from residents of the village of Aqraba, which the military had poisoned.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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