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Arab-Israeli conflicts

Israel Escalates Actions in Occupied West Bank, Pushing Towards Ethnic Cleansing and Dismissing Two-State Solution

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Israeli forces and settlers are intensifying operations across the West Bank, including raids, arrests, demolitions, and settlement expansion, as the Israeli government seeks to annex the region and eliminate Palestinian sovereignty. This push towards ethnic cleansing and the dismantling of future Palestinian statehood has been met with international backlash, with countries such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Qatar rejecting the move.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Israeli government has decided to expand its territories in the West Bank by annexing the territories to get rid of Palestinian sovereignty and to show the international community that there is no way to give the Palestinians a state, according to Mohamad Alqeeq, a political analyst based in Ramallah.
  • Israeli settlers have carried out 7,154 assaults on Palestinians and their properties over the past two years, resulting in 34 deaths, according to rights groups.
  • Since October 7, 2023, more than 1,056 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in the West Bank, with over 20,000 others detained, Palestinian figures show.
  • Israel is increasing pressure on Palestinians to leave their land, water springs, and pasture areas to make way for a settler state, according to Alqeeq.
  • The Israeli army is conducting many military operations in the heart of cities, disrupting the daily life of Palestinians and pushing them to think about the day after, Alqeeq said.
  • The Israeli Knesset has passed a bill to annex the occupied West Bank, with the aim of legalizing de facto annexation that has been in place for years.
  • Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza have been barred from praying at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, while Israeli authorities continue restricting building permits and demolishing Palestinian homes, according to Alqeeq.
  • Experts warn that escalating violence in the West Bank could jeopardize the fragile Gaza ceasefire, with neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his coalition having a political interest in maintaining it, according to Taghreed El-Khodary, a former visiting scholar in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment.
  • The annexation plans have drawn international backlash, with European officials issuing stern warnings to Israel over its declared annexation plans, according to El-Khodary.

Statistics:

  • 7,154 assaults on Palestinians and their properties by Israeli settlers over the past two years, resulting in 34 deaths, according to rights groups.
  • 1,056 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks in the West Bank since October 7, 2023.
  • 20,000 Palestinians detained in the West Bank since October 7, 2023, according to Palestinian figures.
  • 35 Palestinians detained by Israeli army forces across the occupied West Bank last week.
  • 70 houses facing demolition in the West Bank.
  • 3,400 housing units included in the E1 settlement project, seen as a gateway to annexation.

Sources:

  • Anadolu
  • Taghreed El-Khodary, former visiting scholar in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment
  • Mohamad Alqeeq, political analyst based in Ramallah
  • Israeli Knesset
  • Palestinian figures
  • Rights groups
  • US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
  • US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff
  • Vice President JD Vance

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