Panel of experts challenges European policies toward Israeli settlements

A panel at the Jerusalem Post Diplomatic Conference challenged European policies toward Israeli settlements, with three speakers questioning the legal arguments against Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria and the role of nongovernmental organizations in shaping international policy.Natasha Hausdorff, founder and president of the Center for International Rule of Law, argued that describing the West Bank as occupied territory and Israeli settlements as illegal misapplies international law. She said legal terminology was being used to advance political positions and shut down debate over the status of the territory.Hausdorff urged greater scrutiny of arguments invoking the Geneva Conventions, including comparisons between Israeli settlements and the forced population transfers carried out by Nazi Germany.Naomi Kahn, international director of Regavim, focused on claims of settler violence. She presented findings from a year-and-a-half research project examining 8,333 incident reports underlying a United Nations database maintained by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.According to Kahn, more than 2,000 reports concerned violence by Arabs against Israeli settlers. She said 95% of the remaining incidents either did not involve Israeli settlers, did not involve violence, or did not occur in Judea and Samaria. She also argued that some incidents involving terrorists harmed or killed during attacks were incorrectly classified as settler violence.Olga Deutsch, incoming CEO of NGO Monitor, examined how advocacy organizations influence European policy. She described a process in which nongovernmental organizations produce reports that are subsequently used by European institutions to justify measures against Israel, including product labeling and financial restrictions.The panelists questioned whether European governments applied their standards consistently and demanded comparable accountability from the Palestinian Authority for its obligations under agreements dating back to the Oslo Accords.Hausdorff concluded by directly challenging the EU's approach, asking: “Would you support these sanctions if Israel was a Muslim majority state?” This was greeted by applause from the audience.