I told the truth about the West Bank and was threatened and assaulted. Now I'm relying on you to act | Issa Amro

Our lives are blighted by illegal settlements, and 22 more have just been approved. Unless Israel is held to account, we will be erased

• Issa Amro is a Palestinian human rights defender

Each of the 22 illegal settlements approved by Israel last week is another nail in the coffin of the peace process, hammered in by the complicity of western governments and corporations. Israeli settlements are not benign civilian neighbourhoods – they are primary instruments of dispossession, control and apartheid. Settlements are closed militarised zones on Palestinians’ stolen land, cutting off our access to our resources, our farms, our schools, our jobs and each other. Palestinian lands rapidly shrink, our livelihoods are devastated, our rights are systematically violated and our identity is undermined.

Western lawmakers look on, expressing commitment to peace through a two-state solution but choosing to do nothing to achieve this goal. Instead, their policies and inaction enable yet further settlement activity.

Issa Amro is a Palestinian human rights defender and co-founder of Youth Against Settlements

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