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“We wait for the bus and see if it comes. If he doesn’t come, the checkpoint will be closed,” a Palestinian worker from the West Bank told CNN on his way to work.
He cannot take the car with him because they are currently not allowed to pass through the Israeli checkpoint. Despite having a permit that allows him to work in the Israeli territory of the West Bank, as the West Bank is also known, the man must cross two checkpoints to do so.
But many of them have been closed since October 7, when the terrorist group Hamas attacked Israel. Freedom of movement for Palestinians has been tightened and security checks have been tightened. ‘There is no future here. “No solution,” says a teacher from the city of Hebron.
Cities and towns isolated from each other
Three million people live on the 5,800 square kilometer West Bank. This includes an estimated 2.5 million Palestinians and, according to the peace organization Peace Now, 500,000 Jews. They live in at least 213 settlements.
In 1990, the West Bank was divided into three zones A, B and C as part of the Oslo Peace Accords. Settlement A (60 percent) is fully under Israeli control, B is under joint control (20 percent) and C is under Palestinian control (20 percent).
Towns and villages in areas A and B are completely isolated from each other and protected by fences. Palestinians traveling from one village to another must pass through Israeli settlement areas. When the checkpoints are closed, as has happened many times since October 7, Palestinians are no longer allowed to pass through.
Settlement policy condemned by many
The Oslo Peace Accords stipulated, among other things, that control over the A and partly also the B zones of the West Bank would gradually be transferred to the Palestinian Authority. But instead, Israel’s settlement policy intensified. According to the international community, this is contrary to international law. Israel, on the other hand, insists that settlement expansion is “legal.”
In February, after the killing of two Israelis in the town of Huwara, settlers set fire to Palestinian shops and cars and killed a Palestinian. Israeli observers also spoke of a “pogrom”. However, since the Hamas attacks on the Israeli people, Israeli settler violence against Palestinians has reached new heights. ‘They said: you have to leave this place. If not, we will shoot you,” a woman from the village of Khirbit Susiya told “Deutsche Welle.”
“They come at night when we are sleeping, beat us and chase us away,” another woman told CNN, crying. Their only way out: escape. ‘That’s a catastrophe. I’m 60 years old, I’ve spent my life here. We inherited this piece of land from our ancestors,” said a Palestinian woman. And: “The war in Gaza has only encouraged settlers to seize more land.”
“We will take all possible action against them”
According to the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, at least fifteen communities have been forcibly displaced from their land since the Hamas attacks. According to the United Nations, about a thousand people have already lost their homes. “This is a new level. They no longer only attack Palestinians when they are harvesting in the fields. “They invade Palestinian communities, burn down their houses, cut open water tanks, beat people, threaten women and children,” warns Israeli activist Yahuda Shaul. The situation is alarming.
“The settlers are taking advantage of the fact that everyone is looking at Gaza and are increasing their violence. Because there is no protection from the Israeli army or the Israeli police,” Shaul continued. Meanwhile, the Israeli government also had to respond to the accusations. “There is a small handful of people who do not represent this public and are taking the law into their own hands,” Benjamin Netanyahu (74) said on Wednesday about the extremist settlers. And: “We are not prepared to tolerate this. We will take all possible action against them.”
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
