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All of Palestine is Under Attack [1]

['Aseel Al Bajeh']

Date: 2023-11

As the world watches the massacre being carried out against the 2.3 million Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, Israel is intensifying its violence and collective punishment against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, Jerusalem, and for Palestinian citizens of Israel, exposing that its attacks are not against Hamas, but against the Palestinian people as a whole. Over the past thirteen days, Israeli officials made a number of genocidal statements dehumanising Palestinians, translating into the killing of over 4,785 Palestinians, including 1524 children, mass destruction of homes and infrastructure, and displacement amidst a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. What is less reported, however, is the intensified violence, suppression and collective punishment against fragmented Palestinians in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and within the borders of Israel.

Escalating Oppression Before the aggression on Gaza, 2023 had already been identified as the deadliest for Palestinians in the West Bank since 2005, with 203 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and settlers. In the past two weeks, Israeli forces and settlers have killed over 81 Palestinians in the West Bank. To put this in perspective, before the recent escalation, an average of 5 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces and settlers every week, while after, it increased to 40. This horrific number is only expected to increase as Israeli occupying forces embark on their ‘shoot to kill’ policy against protesters and civilians, and their daily arrest raids and military attacks. On Thursday, Israel conducted a full-fledged military attack, including airstrikes, against Nour Shams Refugee Camp, in Tukaram, killing 13 Palestinians, including five children, as well as levelling infrastructure and properties. Meanwhile, Israeli officials are committed to reinforcing Israeli Jewish civilian militias. The Knesset on 15 October approved a regulation that significantly relaxes the requirements for civilians to acquire firearms, before National Security Minister Ben-Gvir promoted a video of him distributing guns. Around 150,000 firearms have been distributed to illegal settlers. Recent weeks have seen a surge in settler violence, with incidents more than doubling. Settlers are further organising their violence and attacks on social media platforms, and inciting for killing Palestinian figures, with over 130,000 hate and incitement speech in Hebrew recorded in little over a week. All this is not only permitted but encouraged by the Israeli government. While Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza is an opportunity for settlers to ‘eradicate’ Palestinians, it is also a chance to steal more land and expand illegal settlements, something Israeli officials have promised to do. Amidst the increased settler violence and use of death threats against Palestinian communities, approximately 545 Palestinians from 13 herding/Bedouin communities have been displaced since 7 October. The institutionalised impunity Israeli settlers have enjoyed for decades has always translated into dehumanising crimes. On 11 October, armed Israeli settlers attacked Qusra village in Nablus and opened fire at Palestinian homes, killing three Palestinians, while the Israeli Air Force (IOF) killed a fourth. The next day, settlers killed another two Palestinians during the funeral of the four killed. A few days later, settlers circulated a photo on Telegram of Karam Dweikat, a 17-year-old boy, who was killed that day by Israeli forces in Beita, Nablus, threatening to kill Palestinians if they hold a public funeral for him. The death threat stated: ‘Learn the lesson from Qusra residents who thought they could hold a public funeral for their carcasses, which led to another two killings. Every idiot who attends the funeral of your carcass will expose his life to the risk of instant death.’

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[1] Url: https://tribunemag.co.uk/2023/10/all-of-palestine-is-under-attack

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