"While all eyes are on Gaza, the West Bank is simmering with violence.
103 Palestinians were killed.
While a bloody conflict continues in the Gaza Strip and attracts global attention, the situation in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is becoming increasingly dangerous.
"Settler violence is growing at an exponential rate, particularly targeting the most vulnerable in Palestinian communities. Their goal is to force entire communities to decide about resettlement,"
writes the Israeli organization Breaking the Silence, which brings together former soldiers of the Israeli Defense Forces.
The Israeli human rights center B'Tselem estimates that while everyone's attention is on the war, no one tries to stop settlers "before, during or after attacks."
The settlers are adding fuel to the fire
Violence by Israeli settlers had already become a growing problem earlier this year.
The West Bank is - under international law - territory occupied by Israel. Despite this, Israeli citizens are increasingly living there in the so-called housing estates.
Their creation
- illegal under international law
leads to
new conflicts with the Palestinians, especially when settlements or roads to them are built on land confiscated from the Palestinians.
Since the beginning of Hamas's war with Israel, a new wave of settler violence has been ongoing, Israeli organizations report.
Since October 7, the activities of Israeli groups have intensified, driving Palestinians from their land and homes in the West Bank.
Residents interviewed by journalists described that in recent weeks, settlers had detained and checked Palestinians in two villages, ordered them to leave their homes within 24 hours, or blocked access to the villages.
According to reports, the settlers were armed and sometimes fired shots into the air.
Now these villages are
largely abandoned.
Other attacks this week are covered by
the Times of Israel .
In the southern West Bank city of Hebron, settlers armed with rifles fired live ammunition as Israeli activists recorded the destruction of Palestinian orchards.
On the same day, in another part of the occupied territories, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians who were harvesting olives from their trees.
They destroyed and stole some of their tools.
US President Joe Biden called for an end to Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.
Biden said he was
"concerned about attacks by extremist settlers," which he said were
"adding fuel to the fire."
B'Tselem reports that in the last week alone, eight communities - almost 500 people - have completely abandoned their homes due to settler violence.
Mairav Zonszein, an Israel-Palestine analyst at the International Crisis Group, said in an interview with
time.com that earlier this year the West Bank had seen
"violence on steroids."
In her opinion, the situation is
"very dangerous".
- The state and settlers have a clear agenda to take over land [in the West Bank] and this is one of the main causes of violence.
But there is also an element of revenge, she said."
Much more in the link
wiadomosci-gazeta-pl.cdn.ampproject.org
From my country's MSM