Highlights on the Humanitarian Crisis of Palestinians in the…
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Highlights on the Humanitarian Crisis of Palestinians in the West bank as an impact of the Israeli War on Gaza
By: Mona Farouk M. Ahmed (HK Professor, IMS)
While Israeli attacks on Gaza have continued to escalate since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, Palestinian civilians face humanitarian crises not only in Gaza but also in other Palestinian territories, including the West Bank and Jerusalem. The Palestinians suffered humanitarian crises since the Israeli occupation of their lands in 1948. But with the ongoing Israeli war the humanitarian crises worsened severely warning of fatal impacts in the future.
Source: The map of the West Bank. https://www.britannica.com/place/West-Bank
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), violence against Palestinians whether by Israeli forces or Israeli settlers intensified. In this context, OCHA reported that since October 2023, Israeli settler attacks on Palestinian communities in the West Bank have increased, especially in areas close to longstanding or newly established settlement outposts.
The Israeli policy demolishing Palestinians houses also intensified since October 2023. This is evident seeing the actions of Israeli authorities who have destroyed, confiscated, or compelled the demolition of 1,829 Palestinian structures throughout the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. This resulted in the displacement of over 4,611 Palestinians, among them around 1,939 children.
On the other hand, the Israeli authorities continued also its policy of building new Jewish settlements in the West Bank. This is obvious seeing the establishment of new 43 settlement outposts (mainly farms) since October 2023 in the West Bank, compared to an annual average of seven outposts over the past three decades. Although settlement outposts are considered illegal under Israeli law, the Israeli government allocated about US$7.5 million for outpost funding in 2023. All these Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory violate International Humanitarian Law and worsen humanitarian needs by impacting livelihoods, food security, and access to essential services. In addition, these settlements represent a continuous dangers for the Palestinians seeing the increasing violence led by the Israeli settlers against them, which also intensified since October 2023, especially in areas close to both longstanding and newly established settlement outposts. In some areas, these settler attacks are daily that severely restricted movement and access for Palestinians. The threats of Israeli Settlers include blocking roads by parking vehicles at community entrances, threatening residents, vandalizing Palestinian vehicles, and preventing the Palestinian herders from passing to their grazing lands.
Since the 7th of October 2023 till today, the Israeli violence against Civilian Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem resulted in the death of more than 730 Palestinians most of them were killed by Israeli forces. The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) documented approximately 1,536 Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians. As a result, 285 Palestinian households with 1,669 people—including 807 children—have been displaced across Bedouin and herding communities in the West Bank, primarily due to settler attacks and movement restrictions.
In addition to the above mentioned data reported by OCHA, other reports showed shocking impacts of the Israeli aggression in Gaza on land rights, food, and economic security in the West Bank. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture, approximately 3,400 hectares of agricultural land have been damaged since the conflict began, leading to a 25% decrease in olive oil production, which is Palestine's most significant agricultural export.
The humanitarian crisis affecting Palestinian civilians is reflected in the deaths and injuries of Palestinian children in the West Bank and Jerusalem, who had already endured continuous violence for years prior to October 7, 2023. Since that date, however, the dangers they face have intensified. UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell emphasized the significant deterioration in the situation, citing frequent reports of Palestinian children being detained on their way home from school or shot while walking in the streets.
The continuous aggression against civilian Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem, ongoing before October 7, has been cited by some observers as one of the factors behind the Hamas attack on Israeli civilians, seen as a response to the decades of sufferings endured by Palestinian civilians. The escalation of this deteriorated situation may serve as a warning of future terror in response to such long-standing injustices, as violence often begets further violence.
References:
https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/child-casualties-west-bank-skyrocket-past-nine-months
