In the photograph, from Amnesty International, a bulldozer has just flattened Palestinian property on the West Bank .
2. Roads have been constructed to link the settlements to Israel. Palestinians are not permitted to use these roads. In fact, they're not permitted to do many things: they live under Israeli military law their freedom of movement restricted by hundreds of checkpoints. Essentially, they are reduced to living in a series of ghettos. Education has virtually ground to a halt, basic healthcare is very inadequate, the economy has been devastated.
3. The most precious natural resource is water. Each Israeli settler gets 1,450 cu.m. per annum, each Palestinian 83 cu.m.
4. Mainly, the settlements are NOT the work of people with extreme religious views. People are encouraged to become settlers by tax breaks. Free water is given to settlers in the fertile Jordan Valley. This is where a lot of the produce for the UK comes from and which we are boycotting.
5. Palestinians working on settlements get less than 50% of the Israeli minimium wage. They are not permitted to join Israeli trade unions. There is no holiday pay, no sick pay and no pension. They need a work permit which can be revoked at any time.
This is all very similar to the old Apartheid System in South Africa. We boycotted everything South African until the system collapsed. Now it's time for another boycott.
