By Farrukh Abadi
Israeli settler and state violence in the occupied West Bank has escalated over the past few weeks, leading to dozens of Palestinian casualties and widespread destruction of Palestinian property in what have been described by human rights organizations as pogroms.
In one wave of violence earlier in the month, Israeli settlers went on a rampage in nearby Palestinian villages after finding a dead 14-year-old Israeli shepherd. Israeli state forces stood by while the carnage ensued and at times actively supported the settlers. In some cases, Israeli forces fired tear gas on Palestinians who tried to defend themselves and their property while also preventing firetrucks and ambulances from arriving on the scene.
In an interview with +972 Magazine, 27-year-old Anwar Salawdeh spoke about his home that had been destroyed: “I left school to work at the age of 13, and saved up since then until I could build a house. At the time of the attack, I was working in Anata; I only came back today…. I started building the house in 2020 and finished this year with the intention of getting married and living here.”
Since the start of the year, Israel has declared roughly 3,000 acres of land in the West Bank as state-owned, encouraging settler violence while also issuing massive amounts of guns and permits.
Since October 7, nearly 500 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli soldiers and settlers, and more than 7,350 have been arrested. Over 3,000 prisoners are held in administrative detention, detained indefinitely and given no information regarding their charges.
Palestinian resistance fighters have been putting up a stiff fight with dozens of acts of resistance a week, including complex ambushes combining IED detonations and fire teams.
Just last week, the armed Palestinian resistance group Tulkarm Brigade left 9 Israeli forces wounded during an Israeli military raid on the Nur Shams refugee camp and the city of Tulkarm. Occupying forces murdered at least 14 Palestinians during their two-day raid.
Following the massacre, resistance forces called for a general strike in the West Bank, which went into effect on April 21.
A statement by Hamas said: “As we mourn the noble martyrs of Tulkarm, who confronted the [Israeli] occupation forces with determination and steadfastness, we affirm that Zionist criminality will not bring security to the occupying Tel Aviv regime. The resistance of our people will pass on from one generation to another until final victory and full liberation of our occupied lands.”
photo: Still from a video of Palestinian resistance forces detonating an IED targeting an Israeli army bulldozer in the West Bank last week, after which the combatants opened fire on the bulldozer team with small arms; this was one of 9 IED operations recorded to have taken place in the West Bank last week.
