While Israel’s war on Gaza continues to escalate, the IDF and Israeli settlers are terrorizing Palestinians in the West Bank. This violence is not new: the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Israeli settlers have used terror as a tool to push Palestinians out of the area. Today, over 60% of the West Bank is under Israeli civil and military control.
Since October 7, settler attacks on Palestinians living in the West Bank have intensified. They have displaced people from 20 communities and have destroyed at least seven villages. During these attacks, Israeli settlers have “assaulted, tortured, and committed sexual violence against Palestinians, stolen their belongings and livestock.” And in some cases, settlers have threatened to kill Palestinians if they did not leave their homes permanently.
Recently, two attacks left many dead and many more injured. Last Monday, hundreds of armed Israelis attacked three villages: Beitin, Duma and al-Mughayyir, leaving 17-year-old Omar Hamed and 25-year-old Jihad Abu Aliya dead. 45 people were also injured during this attack. And most recently, on Saturday, the Israeli military killed 14 Palestinians at the Nur al-Shams refugee camp in the city of Tulkarm. Of those killed, at least one was a child and one was a teenager. This raid left the camp basically uninhabitable.
One resident, Ahmad Al-Asseh, described the scene: “You can see with your eyes what happened: destruction, Gaza number two. What happened is that they left no trees, nor people, nor stones. It is unbearable, uninhabitable by humans. What happened is destruction.”
Palestinians in the West Bank started a general strike on Sunday in response to the attack on the Nur al-Shams refugee camp and Israeli raids more generally.
Amidst all the horror in Gaza, we must not forget about the West Bank! The violence faced by Palestinians there is ultimately part of the same occupation and war. We must remember to speak out and stand up against Israel’s attacks on all of Palestine.
