Archive Documents Reveal How Settlers Use Israeli Army for Own Gain

Israeli vehicles, guarded by Israeli forces, bulldoze lands near the Palestinian village of Qusra, in the Israeli occupied West Bank. (Reuters)
Israeli vehicles, guarded by Israeli forces, bulldoze lands near the Palestinian village of Qusra, in the Israeli occupied West Bank. (Reuters)
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Archive Documents Reveal How Settlers Use Israeli Army for Own Gain

Israeli vehicles, guarded by Israeli forces, bulldoze lands near the Palestinian village of Qusra, in the Israeli occupied West Bank. (Reuters)
Israeli vehicles, guarded by Israeli forces, bulldoze lands near the Palestinian village of Qusra, in the Israeli occupied West Bank. (Reuters)

Two 40-year old documents revealed that the Israeli army used Palestinian land, to the south of the West Bank, as a military training zone aiming to expel Palestinians from it without ever having used the seized lands for their declared purposes.

Judicial sources in the Peace Now movement confirmed that the document will help in the case submitted to the High Court of Justice in July by a few hundred Palestinians who remained in the vicinity of Yatta, a town in the South Hebron Hills, to fight the state’s efforts to remove them. The revelations demonstrate the sway settlers hold over the military and in affecting their actions.

The documents were found in Israeli Archives by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACR) and Akevot, both battle expulsions in the courts and occasionally submit historical documentation to support their claims.

The documents are minutes of a July 1981 meeting of the Ministerial Committee for Settlement Affairs. They indicate that former prime minister Ariel Sharon, who was the minister of agriculture at the time, proposed that land in the South Hebron Hills be allocated to the Israeli army for live-fire training.

Sharon explained that the military should use the land on account of “the expansion of the Arab villagers from the hills," and he wanted to offer additional training areas to the representatives of the general staff.

He explained that the additional areas must be at the border, between the bottom of the Hebron Hills and the Judean Desert, to confront the spreading of the Arab villagers on the mountainside toward the desert.

“We have an interest in expanding and enlarging the shooting zones there, in order to keep these areas, which are so vital, in our hands... Many additional areas for training could be added, and we have a great interest in [the army] being in that place," Sharon said according to the document.

In response, an army representative said that the military establishment would be very happy to have that.

Later in the meeting, it was decided that the agriculture minister’s adviser on settlement affairs would meet with army representatives and show them the places marked for additional shooting zones “to keep the areas in our hands.”

However, the army did not fulfill its promise directly, so Sharon's advisor met a representative again, and told him that the field situation is getting more dangerous, urging the army to implement the minister's recommendations quickly.

The Association, along with Akevot, submitted a petition to the High Court stating that the document offers a rare peek into the way in which it was decided to declare shooting zones in the South Hebron Hills and the motivations for that declaration.

“Contrary to the principles of international law, the decision-makers did not have the welfare of the residents at heart,” it read.

Executive director of Akevot, Lior Yavne, said that the declaration of the shooting zones was designed to force out the locals due to the territorial interests of the government.

About 800 Palestinians in eight separate residential communities in the Yatta area live under the threat of demolishing their homes, deportation and confiscation of their fertile lands.

The Israeli forces began the demolition and deportation process in 1999, but the High Court issued an interim injunction freezing the evacuation, and Israel later announced it would reduce the area of the shooting zone until the case is determined.

The Israeli government claims that these Palestinians are Bedouins and are not permanent residents, claiming they are not entitled to have land, and therefore they have no right to file a lawsuit.

Another document written in 1967 on behalf of then-Military Advocate General Meir Shamgar was tracked down by Akevot staff members. It states that civilians cannot be evacuated from an area in order to create training zones for the Israeli army, “both for political and humanitarian reasons, and for reasons related to the provisions of international law.”



Sudan Arms Surge Raises Alarms Over Civilian Protection

Sudan says it destroyed 50,000 explosive remnants of war (AFP)
Sudan says it destroyed 50,000 explosive remnants of war (AFP)
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Sudan Arms Surge Raises Alarms Over Civilian Protection

Sudan says it destroyed 50,000 explosive remnants of war (AFP)
Sudan says it destroyed 50,000 explosive remnants of war (AFP)

A surge in deadly violence has gripped the quiet northern town of al-Dabbah, exposing the growing threat posed by the rampant spread of weapons across Sudan in the absence of effective state control.

At least eight people were killed over just two days, four in tribal clashes and four others in a street fight within the town.

The latest bloodshed comes amid a broader climate of insecurity, where gunfire has become a common soundscape. In nearby Omdurman, social media users circulated graphic footage of a young man shot dead in cold blood after resisting an attempt to steal his mobile phone.

Reports of killings and injuries from arguments and brawls settled with bullets have flooded social platforms, painting a grim picture of lawlessness. Armed robbery gangs are said to roam freely, terrorizing civilians with no security forces in sight.

As Sudan’s brutal conflict enters its third year, guns have become as commonplace in towns and villages as household items. What was once settled with fists or sticks is now resolved through the barrel of a gun.

Tens of thousands of civilians have reportedly armed themselves, citing the need for self-defense amid state collapse and the disintegration of law enforcement.

Even before the war erupted, estimates suggested around 2.2 million firearms were circulating in Sudan’s conflict zones. Since then, the figure is believed to have ballooned, with unofficial estimates placing the current number at nearly six million, most acquired privately or informally.

In al-Dabbah, local authorities confirmed tribal clashes erupted between members of the Kababish and Hawaweer tribes, leaving four dead and others wounded before security forces intervened. The following day, a quarrel between vehicle drivers escalated into a gunfight, claiming four more lives.

Meanwhile, in the Omdurman district of Al-Hattana, gunmen fatally shot a man while attempting to snatch his phone, another grim scene that social media brought into public view.

Weapons have now flooded Sudan’s markets. Eyewitnesses and former security officials say that under the brief control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum, firearms were openly sold on the street like vegetables, with prices starting at just 20,000 Sudanese pounds, roughly $10.

Security experts say this gun chaos is not a sudden phenomenon but the product of years of unchecked proliferation.

Under former President Omar al-Bashir, weapons were distributed to tribal militias to fight opposing groups. With the eruption of nationwide conflict, arms have spread from the traditional battlegrounds of Darfur and Kordofan to cities in Sudan’s north, east, and center.

Legal analyst Moaz Hadra warned of the growing dangers of “random arming,” saying some groups are being trained and armed outside Sudan to destabilize the country. “Why are these groups being trained abroad instead of within Sudan’s military institutions?” he asked when speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat.

Officials Downplay Risk, Citing Self-Defense

Despite mounting violence, Sudanese security and military officials continue to downplay the threat. They argue that most weapons are held by civilians for self-protection against RSF attacks or roaming bandits. “Should a citizen wait helplessly while armed men storm his home?” one commentator asked rhetorically.

Brigadier General Fath al-Rahman al-Toum, a police spokesman, dismissed fears of total lawlessness, saying that gun crackdowns are ongoing and that firearms possession is being treated as an exceptional situation under extraordinary circumstances.

Others, like Brigadier General Saleh Abdullah, insist that once the war ends, collecting the weapons will be “very easy,” noting that most guns were distributed under strict regulations to reserve forces and can be retrieved using serial numbers registered to each piece. “The army has always managed its weapons according to clear protocols,” he said.

Major General Mujahid Ibrahim added that Sudan’s porous borders, particularly in the west, have made it easier for arms to enter the country unchecked, exacerbating the crisis. Still, military officials say weapons loaned to civilians can be recovered thanks to detailed logs and unique identifiers.

Yet, as al-Dabbah and Omdurman reel from fresh bouts of violence, the gap between official reassurance and on-the-ground chaos continues to widen. With Sudan’s civil war showing no sign of abating, the unchecked spread of guns threatens to tear apart what remains of the country’s fragile social fabric.