A wave of murders, violence, and harassment waged against Palestinians has been unleashed by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) personnel and illegal settlers alike in the occupied West Bank, according to the Time of Israel. Nearly 200 Palestinians have been killed, including 48 children, in the West Bank since Tel Aviv’s massive bombing campaign against the besieged Gaza Strip was launched last month.
B’tselem, the premier Israeli human rights organization, reports that since the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel, 963 Palestinians have been displaced in these rampant attacks. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates the number of people forced from their homes and villages is even higher.
OCHA notes about 1,150 Palestinians from 15 herding communities have been uprooted by repressive movement restrictions imposed on Palestinians in the West Bank as well as the settler violence. Entire villages such as Radhem and Zanutah have been depopulated over the last month as well.
In that same time, the Yesh Din organization estimates that there have been in excess of 185 attacks by settlers against Palestinians in more than 84 villages and towns. Times of Israel reports that in the wake of the current war, illegal West Bank settlers have been recruited by the army into six so-called regional defensive battalions.
As the line between settlers and the military is obscured, violent attacks have escalated. Earlier this month, Haaretz reported that some of the settlers being inducted into these army militias, ostensibly formed to defend ultra-orthodox illegal colonies in the West Bank, may have criminal records.
For example, in the village of Susya, a Palestinian shepherd named Ahmad Jabra Nawaja, was brutally beaten in front of his wife and daughters and threatened with death in the middle of the night by masked men in IDF uniforms, armed with M-16 assault rifles. They warned if he did not destroy structures on his property and leave his land, they would come back and kill him.
“When he put the gun to my neck I was terrified. I thought he was going to shoot me, I thought it was over. My heart was beating like crazy,” Nawaja told the outlet. He says such incidents are the new reality in the West Bank, lamenting “We have nowhere else to go. We don’t have any alternative.”
Additionally, deliberate destruction and sabotage of water tanks and solar panels has occurred in multiple Palestinian villages, according to B’tselem.
For instance, in Susya, three water cisterns were damaged severely and rendered unusable after a man, believed to be a settler, using a tractor pushed rubble into them under the supervision of armed IDF soldiers. In a response to questions regarding the demolition, the Israeli army spokespersons unit stated, “IDF forces that came to Susya to carry out an engineering operation… on October 16 exceeded the boundaries of the actions that had been defined due to lack of coordination.”
Peace Now, the Israeli activist group, has explained that Israel’s bombing campaign and ground invasion in Gaza, which has killed over 11,000 Palestinians, along with tensions at the northern border with Hezbollah, “created a new reality where the security system in the West Bank increasingly relies on settlers within the framework of operational activities, becoming more dependent on them.” The group adds, that “Ideological and violent settlers leverage the war to coerce the military for their own goals of expulsion and harm to Palestinians.”
Settlers have murdered olive harvesters and then even killed people attending their funerals. OCHA says that, since the October 7th Hamas attack and the war on Gaza began, settler attacks on Palestinians have more than doubled.
Itmar Ben-Gvir, the extremist settler and Israel’s National Security minister, announced last month that Tel Aviv would purchase and distribute 10,000 assault rifles to Israeli citizens including within the West Bank’s illegal settlements.
According to Axios, the US State Department is set to approve a $34 million sale of 24,000 M-16 semiautomatic and automatic rifles after reportedly receiving dubious assurances from Tel Aviv that the weapons will not be provided to settlers.
Concurrently, per the Palestinian Prisoners Society, almost 2,800 Palestinians have been rounded up by Israeli security forces since October 7 as a huge arrest campaign has been ongoing in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Middle East Eye reports the “compiled figures include arrests made from homes, military checkpoints,” and Palestinians forced into submission “under pressure” by Israeli forces.
Although the war on Gaza is making all the headlines because of the thousands of women and children the Israelis have killed, the West Bank is now receiving more international attention.
“Concerning the West Bank, I’d like to express the strongest condemnation by France of the violence carried out by the settlers against the Palestinians,” Anne-Claire Legendre, a spokesperson for the French Foreign Ministry, told a press conference. “Violence which has the clear objective of forced displacement of the Palestinians and a policy of terror,” she added.
Volker Turk, the United Nations’ human rights chief, admonished that the “intensification of violence and severe discrimination against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem,” creates a “potentially explosive situation.” He emphasized, “I am ringing the loudest possible alarm bell” regarding the deteriorating situation in the West Bank.
For Palestinians, prior to October, this year was already one of the deadliest on record. Before the end of September, more than 220 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli forces, including over three dozen children. That figure includes 187 people who were murdered in the occupied territories and another 37 killed – mostly amidst a smaller bombing campaign – in the Gaza Strip.
Connor Freeman is the assistant editor and a writer at the Libertarian Institute, primarily covering foreign policy. He is a co-host on the Conflicts of Interest podcast. His writing has been featured in media outlets such as Antiwar.com, Counterpunch, and the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity. He has also appeared on Liberty Weekly, Around the Empire, and Parallax Views. You can follow him on Twitter @FreemansMind96.
I’m surprised these settlers haven’t started taking scalps. The barbarism is stupefying.
I have seen pictures taken of them in the West Bank. They look dirty, mean, like a mean street gang.
Right-Hamas never tied up children and burned them alive.
I cannot claim to be a student of World History. But if this Genocide and murder is not one of the biggest crimes in the history of mankind it is pretty fucking close.
Nonsense! How many Syrians has Assad killed?How many black Christians did Islamic Whites kill in Sudan?
I would have thought your reply would have at least denied the genocide part of the comment you replied to. Instead, just an attempt at comparisons.
You said “biggest crimes”.Once elected Hamas started the war,Gazans unfortunately pay the price.
Yes, Hamas was elected in 2006. And interesting phenomena. You see, initially Hamas turned down the invitation to become involved in the electoral process in the occupied territories, then recanted an ran as a civilian entity. They surprised even themselves with their win, taking Gaza and a few constituencies in the West Bank, which was taken by the PLO. Jimmy Carter was there, as well as others, to monitor the election, finding is to be fair. Immediately, the U.S. and Israel initiated a blockade, arrested some Hamas officers. The blockade had checkpoints. Nothing in, nothing out, except on rare occasions. Food, potable water, medicine, travel, were restricted and remain so. It was in 2010,I believe, that Hamas negotiated a cease fire that held from June of that year until election day in the U.S., November 4, at which time Israel broke the truce. The “war” began long before 7Oct23. From occupation to concentration camp. This interview of Norman Finkelstein by Chris Hedges was an eye opener for me (I have since read his book “Gaza”) https://www.mintpressnews.com/chris-hedges-israel-culture-deceit/286061/
Thank you for sharing. Both Chris Hedges and Norman Finklestein are respected and well researched scholars on this subject. Jake seems stuck in the Zionist propaganda abyss. Fabricate a lie and say it until it becomes a truth of sorts.
Finkelstein describes vividly people “driven mad” by the occupation.
So were the perpetrators of Deir Yassin driven mad by the holocaust? where the Hebron pogromists driven mad by the Grand Mufit?
From a period of relative quiet,Hamas crossed a border,entered another country,and committed mass atrocities.Now Gazans reap the whirlwind.
First of all, I didn’t make the comment. Secondly, the person that did make the comment said this:
But if this Genocide and murder is not one of the biggest crimes in the history of mankind it is pretty fucking close.
So, as usual, you’re full of shit.
Take a good look in the mirror. Gaza had no Israeli troops-they attacked Israelis living in the Negev-pre 1967 Israel-now they are getting what for righteous -justice.
You need to catch up. IDF and police were killed.
Most of the victims were civilians. Hamas bandits were told to step on their victims heads Children were tied up and burned alive..Now serious payback is being delivered.
What the fuck are you even talking about? I just posted the comment you replied to. You replied to that without mentioning the genocide. Instead, you made comparisons to how many Assad killed, and I pointed that out. No denial of Israel’s genocide, which was the subject, just comparisons to how many others have killed. And then you spew irrelevant shit. You don’t even know who you are arguing with since you are arguing with so many at the same time.
Hamas did not start a war. They started to fight the occupier, Israel. I wouldn’t even call that a war, which usually means fighting between two independent countries.
The occupied has the right to fight the occupier. What the young fighters did on 7Oct23 was tantamount to the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. What is interesting about the uprising on 7Oct23 is many of the Israeli fatalities were the result of wild shooting by the Israeli Apache pilots, tank ordinance, IDF erratic shooting, as evidenced by Israeli civilians who survived. You are correct by characterizing Gaza and the West Bank as not being independent countries. They also lack an army, navy, air force, coast guard. And, lots of money and weapons from its biggest sugar daddies, the U.S. of Atrocities.
Most of the people killed were born in Israel-they are not occupiers.By your “logic”anyone living in the US who is not of “native America” descent is an occupier.
Palestine and Israel are two independent countries. Are new US citizens occupiers?Are new imigrants occupiers? You don’t get to approve atrocities if performed by people you like,or against people you hate. You don’t get to call people occupiers,if they were born there.. Hamas started a war,now Gazans are suffering.
Here’s a nice summary of exactly what’s going on in America right fu@king now from: Black in the Empire on Twitter:
“The Azov didn’t even try to hide that they’re Nazis, and the Zionists don’t have to bother to hide that they’re racists
Most of the Americans running around screaming about fighting fascism, are so lost in our country’s propaganda, they don’t even realize they’re supporting it”
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Yes indeed, most don’t realize that they are promoting it. The ones who claim to be the most tolerant are the most intolerant of all. I.E… Cancel culture. Just looking at the Covid scam and how the majority of people were turned into little Fascists against those who refused the ‘clot shot’ should give pause to all who value freedom of choice.
Agreed. Here’s another take if you will. Folks incessantly promoting their “tolerance” regarding religious and racial issues could be the most racist of us all!
One man’s opinion.
It’s these freaking parasites the normal Israelis are drafted into the IDF to defend; people who don’t work, don’t pay taxes, are exempt from the draft, and serve no purpose but to breed while “studying the torah”, who demand handouts, and terrorize the rightful owners of the land in the west bank. I wish HAMAS had been able to target, and eliminate, a few thousand of them instead of the actual targets on October 7. The Palestinians, the West Bank, the World, and Israel itself would be far better off.
“people who don’t work, don’t pay taxes, are exempt from the draft, and serve no purpose but to breed while “studying the torah”, who demand handouts, and terrorize the rightful owners of the land in the west bank.” I never understood why the Haredi get special treatment.
Political parties representing the Haredim are often needed to form coalition governments. Continuing the military exemptions and financial support for yeshiva students is a cost of their participation.
How the relatively-limited exemptions for relatively-few Haredim that were established early in Israeli history became the current mess is beyond my understanding.
I don;t either, except their value as a homogenous voting bloc on demand for the hard right Israeli politicians. For every other Israeli they are a curse
Like this Rabbi?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIX368TtOJs
its called block votes.
Meanwhile,we have plenty of US losers sipping beer,taking drugs,breeding,and filling our jails.
And? Are they attacking other communities in the country, driving them from their homes, and stealing their property while under the protection of the US military and with the backing of the US government?
How many Israelis have been killed by West Bank terrorists during this time-no mention.
Your beloved illegal settlers and IDF have always instigated and provoked the Palestinians because the Israeli government applauds state sponsored terrorism and murder.
IF there has been any deaths in the WB of an Israeli it has been a response to the bloodlust and zeal of the illegal settlers acting like their brethren in the third reich…
Nonsense-both sides have been killing each other for 100 years. Speaking of blood lust-Oct 11. Maaalot Massacre.
You can’t admit that your side is the occupiers who instigate terrorism , murder, and theft daily.
The Palestinians are trying to merely survive this terror. Your response is typical, and sadly wrong on all accounts. Tell Us about the USS Liberty attack, or the current premeditated genocide in Gaza….
1. Despite the denials from the so called “antiwar” crowd- on Oct 11,apx 1400 Israelis were butchered in a pogrom conducted by Hamas.
2. Hunting down Hamas killers and freeing 200+ hostages is righteous self defense. There is no genocide BS.
3. There were plenty of terrorist actions conducted by Arabs on the West Bank.
Sure but killing 10,000 others and laying waste to entire cities while you do it, not so righteous. The Catholics have this notion of just war, part of it is response has to be proportionate.
Yes,the Conquistadores and the Crusaders practiced “just war”. When the Crusaders entered Jerusalem,they massacred every Jew and Muslim they could find.They raped Latin America.
Well not everyone is a good Catholic
When will the Zionist fulfill their end of the bargain and release the 5,000 Palestinians in jails in Israel, many detained for no reason and without charge. There are Palestinian children and women in those jails. You must be the same person as Don Julio. You both vomit up the same talking points. You must be one and the same.
When I see bile,I vomit.
Why were the IDF killing Israeli’s on October 7th according to Haaretz? I believe what Hamas did was wrong in many ways. Israel supported and created Hamas as a counter to the PLO…they are not hunting Hamas, they are committing genocide in order to gain control over 453 billion worth of gas an oil deposits in Gaza. What terroist actions in the WB? responses to illegal settlers and the IDF stealing, killing and destroying entire villages?? people like you should be forced to stand in Gaza during Israel’s bloodlust…
The subject here is about the pogrom taking place in the west bank even your previous question was about that. But you keep changing the subject.
There are much more plenty of terrorist actions conducted by Zionist settlers with active support and participation of the Israeli military, police, and security services the Shin Bet or The Shabak.
Even olive trees weren’t spared the Israeli wrath.
Zionists who control Wash. turn on their own and bust heads at DNC headquarters. https://www.democracynow.org/2023/11/17/dnc_headquarters_ceasefire_gaza_protest_ifnotnow
This was your original question above.
“How many Israelis have been killed by West Bank terrorists during this time-no mention.”
One side is an invader and occupier other side was invaded and continuously being occupied, oppressed , their rights violated , their land stolen and homes destroyed.
Maaalot Massacre was in May 14-15, 1974 not this year which you we’re trying to confuse the issue at hand.
Deir Yassin ?
To Judaophobic Arabs,every bit of Israel is “occupied”. Israel is liberated.
Since Oct. 7th? I googled it and got nothing. So, please enlighten us.
Hey Jake: You and your colleagues are needed at unz.com to balance out the posts on those boards.
So you approve of those posts?
I approve of freedom of speech for everyone.
How many ? You must know for asking such a question. West Bank is Palestinian occupied by the real terrorists from the state of Israel. You really need stop the deflection and change the subject.
The West Bank murders alone are equal to the much complained of attack on Oct 7. The Israeli crimes in the West Bank alone are fully equal to what Hamas did. Terrorism.
Yet where do we see international condemnation of this mass, calculated, government assisted terrorist attack on a helpless disarmed population?
There is plenty of condemnation internationally, just not in the west.
BDS
It is always immoral and terrible to harm peaceful people.Why does not this article mention Palestinian terrorist attacks killing Jews on the West Bank? Why are there to articles explaining and supporting the Israeli position?
Maybe because the Israeli position is unsupportable.
Killing defenseless people,kidnapping 3 year old children,raping people is not supportable. is never acceptable.
Propaganda that is not true and you know it. You are vomiting up trope that Israel spread two weeks ago. You many have heard stories of settlers in the West Bank killing Palestinians, and RAPING women, have you not? Yes, the fine, upstanding settlers behaving like what Israel calls Palestinians.
Zionism is a form of terrorism that has highjacked Judaism and now endangers Judaism on all fronts.
Zionism is a national liberation movement.
Show me where settlers are raping Palestinians these days?
Killing and terrorizing defenseless people is what the settler scum do in the west bank every single day; with the full blessing of the IDF and the acquiescence of the west.
Oh,just like Hamas.
Yes, just like HAMAS. So why should HAMAS get all the blame, when the Haredi settlers are equally at fault? Why shouldn’t the palestinians strike back, at every opportunity, at these bearded terrorist parasite fucks?
Show me where Haredis killed 1200 people in a day.
Did you read today’s story about how the Haredi are trying to occupy the old Armenian Christian quarter, and evict the Armenians, violently? With IDF support and protection? Armenian Christians? Are you going to draw an equivalency there with HAMAS as well?
Israeli propaganda, garbage
If you don’t like facts,that is your problem.
I keep telling you, you gotta keep up. Not long ago there were 100,000 settlers stealing lands in the West Bank. There are now over 600,000. A large force of people intimidating, shooting Palestinians, driving them off their land, leveling their homes, with the IDF right there to defend them. Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza have been occupied by Israel for 75 years, secured in the concentration camp for 16 years. No one in, no one out,except for rare circumstances. Food, medicine, water, electricity, travel, restricted. Articles supporting the Israeli occupation? Really?
There were no Israelis in the West Bank until 1967-Jordan evicted all Jews living there. There were no Israelis in Gaza until this Hamas attack.Get your facts straight.
“Ringing a bell” is the lamest approach to genocide and ethnic cleansing.
They. Do. Not. Care.
Anyone have any ideas about punitive actions? Arrests? Being tossed out as a member of the UN? Anything?
How many Israelis have been killed as a result of terrorism in this area during this time period?
Is this Jake…from state farm? Did you get a new job?
No, its Julio, and some other dude wrapped up in the same personage, busy vomiting up their trope.
Resisting illegal settlers who are daily attacking and killing Palestinian men woman and children, and stealing their land is not terrorism… The occupying power being Israel is devoid of any moral compass and respect for any rule of international law.
It is the fault of Israel putting its citizens in jeopardy by its obvious terrorist actions against the Palestinians. Israel’s outrageous Hannibal Directive exposes how Israel is devoid of respect for any human life..
So if a homeless person enters your home and squats,they can say you are an occupying power because they are native American,or there great parents were slaves.
How many were killed by their own army and air force. By tank, by ground fire, and by Apache helicopters on 7Oct23? It was witnessed by Israelis who were there.
If a few Israelis were killed by the fog of war,that in no way negates that Hamas invaded a neighboring country,and massacred 1200 people-raped and took women as sex slaves,mutilated,burned people alive, and took 3 year old children as hostages.
Never let a good distraction go to waste. These guys have almost evened the score and they didn’t need $14 billion to do it.
What is happening in the West Bank is what happened in the Jim Crow south in the fifties and sixties. The KKK would rampage destroy, and even kill people just because they were black, or jewish in some instances.
The illegal settlers, and I am not including woman and children, because they have to exist among these racist outlaws are destroying Judaism..literally..are putting people of the Jewish faith in perpetual danger..everywhere, because the Israeli state government is sanctioning their terror and murder. How do you stop a state bent upon its own destruction??….
The U.S. and Israel seem to be hell bent on destroying themselves and the rest of the world along with it.
When two tribes claim the same land in its entirety, the conflict can only end in one way – as might makes right. This has been obvious from the start. The real problem with this war is not this relatively small tribal conflict, but the fact that both tribes have massive external support, and massive emotional investment by huge numbers of people around the world – and that provides the means to escalate this war into WW III.
Massive external support to only one side.