Israel intensifies West Bank attacks, 1,014 Palestinians killed in a year

Israel is advancing a new settlement project in the occupied West Bank, alongside its blockade of Gaza, aimed at forcibly displacing Palestinians. The plan threatens the eviction of nearly 7,000 Palestinian residents from the area.

Since October 7, 2023, alongside military operations across the blockaded Gaza Strip that have resulted in Palestinian casualties, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have been demolishing homes and forcibly displacing residents. They are also subjecting the population to severe food shortages, driving them toward death by famine. Throughout the week, Israel has escalated violent attacks as part of its efforts to seize full control of Gaza City.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health reports that, since the second year of the Gaza war, Israeli forces and illegal settlers have killed 1,014 people in the West Bank and injured at least 7,000 Palestinians. Now, in addition to Gaza, Israel is attempting to expand its control over more areas.

To connect the West Bank and the Jordan Valley, the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, passed the E1 project on July 23. Last week, far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also oversees settlement activities in the Defense Ministry, approved the related plan.

The project aims to build more than 6,900 settlement units around Ma’ale Adumim and connect it to Jerusalem. Israel also seeks to reduce Palestinian territorial continuity between Ramallah and Bethlehem and expand Israeli sovereignty, law, and administration over all Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Jordan Valley. According to the Netanyahu government, this will strengthen Israel’s security and protect the fundamental rights of the Jewish population in their homeland.

On Tuesday (August 19), the Governor’s Office in Jerusalem warned that the new Israeli settlement project could forcibly displace nearly 7,000 Palestinian residents of the occupied West Bank. Twenty-two Bedouin communities in the area will be directly affected by the project.

The office described the project as an Israeli colonial plan, warning that it will isolate the communities of Jabal al-Baba and Wadi Jamil from the nearby city of al-Izariya.

After the Arab-Israeli War in 1967, Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. Thirty-eight years later, in 2005, Israel withdrew its military and settlements from Gaza.

The Jordan Valley is located in the eastern part of the occupied West Bank, extending along the west bank of the Jordan River. It is a fertile and strategic area covering about 10,000 square kilometers, crucial for Palestinian agriculture, livelihood, and geopolitics. Israel has controlled this area since 1967.

In July last year, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion declaring Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories illegal. It also called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The United Nations has repeatedly stated that Israel’s ongoing settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal under international law and a serious obstacle to a viable two-state solution.