Israeli settler 'snitch line' makes life hell for Palestinians and a far-right government could make things worse

A 'snitch line' used by Israeli settlers to report on Palestinian construction work in the occupied West Bank could be part of efforts to "oust Arabs" from the territories, Haaretz reported on Tuesday.

'Operations Room C' was set up by Israeli authorities to allow residents - ie Israeli settlers - to report on "illegal" construction work in Area C of the occupied West Bank.

While authorities insist the hotline is open to all residents - Palestinian and Jewish - the reality is that the Hebrew-language-only portal is used almost exclusively by Israeli settlers.

Palestinians have been snitched on hundreds of times for conducting light repairs on roads and other minor construction work in Area C which is under the direct control of the Israeli military, Civil Administration and Interior Ministry.

Inspectors are then sent to sites where complaints have been made, making basic fixing and building measures effectively illegal and adding to the suffocating conditions for Palestinians in the West Bank.

"Let's acknowledge the truth," a security source told Haaretz.

"Operations Room C was established to provide an answer especially, or mostly, for what is called the ‘battle over Area C" and to allow more civilian bodies to draw our attention,” he added, using a term commonly used by settlers.

Area C covers around 61 percent of the West Bank, where administrative powers were supposed to be handed over to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in 1999 according to the Oslo Accords but they remain under direct Israeli military control.

Areas A and B are under the direct or partial control of the PA, but all remain surrounded by the larger Area C with its myriad of illegal Israeli settlements.

The online form has made it easier for Israeli settlers and officials in Area C, illegal under international law, to file complaints, even on Sabbath when such work is deemed to break Jewish law.

Hundreds of complaints were filed through the portal between 1 and 19 October, in a file obtained by Haaretz, for construction and repair work by local Palestinians, or even digging wells and planting trees.

The organisation behind the portal even dubbed it a "snitch line" in an online advertisement, which appeared aimed at Israeli settlers in the occupied territories, who have made life hell for the local population.

This includes attacks and shootings of Palestinians, and sabotage of agriculture, homes, and infrastructure projects.

The portal appears intended to spread further hardship for Palestinians and cement Israeli rule in occupied territories.

Israel's next government, likely to be led by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will likely include far-right parties, whose leaders live in Israeli settlements.

These groups have been keen to cement their rule over the occupied territories, with the far-right Religious Zionism Party set to be given the national security and finance ministries, which would give it direct power and control over the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank.

The settler lobby has been keen to annex the West Bank territories and on settlement expansion.

Israel has killed 224 Palestinians, including 36 children, since the start of 2022.