"Meanwhile in the West Bank...."
While the world has turned their attention to the war on Gaza, violence is continuing in the occupied West Bank. A new wave of anti-Palestinian violence, meaning even more than before, is happening on a daily basis to both Muslims and Christians living there. Currently there are more than 670,000 Jewish settlers living in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
So far more than 132 Palestinians, including 41 children have been killed and over 2,080 arrested. 1,200 of those arrested are being held without charges or "detained." This means they can be held indefinitely behind bars without facing trial or any charges. This practice, which is from the era of the British Mandate, can be extended indefinitely based on "secret evidence." This means a detainee can spend months or even years in prison with no charges against them.
Arrests are carried out by raiding Palestinian homes in the middle of the night. This is nothing new, as thousands of Palestinians are detained by Israel each year with no charges, including children. And in the US's "only democracy in the Middle East," a kid throwing rocks will get more time in prison than a Jewish settler who murders a Palestinian.
Immediately after October 7, Israel began arming its citizens with rifles and military gear, and the government is encouraging and sometimes aiding the killings of Palestinian people. This is according to many human rights watch groups, both international and Jewish. Settler violence towards the Palestinians has increased drastically since October 7, and many civilians in the West Bank are afraid to leave their homes. Here are just a few incidents that have taken place, in the past month. At least half of the incidents are reportedly involving IDF soldiers.
*On October 14, settlers cut down more than 80 olive trees in the village of Al-Mughayr, north of Ramallah. This happens every year during olive harvest season but is even more aggressive this year. The next day the Hammoudeh family was attacked with rocks, injuring four people in their family. This family and others were attacked again on October 16 and beaten. Settlers also beat people living near Nablus with batons and set more olive groves on fire, injuring at least 12 Palestinians. Palestinians report more often than not, these settlers come with Israeli army protection.
*40-year-old Bilal Saleh was harvesting olives on his property when he was shot in the chest and killed by an Israeli settler. When settlers came after him and his family, they ran, and then he turned back to get his phone and was killed.
*An elderly Christian couple was collecting olives on their farm. Jewish settlers grabbed and beat the man. When his wife tried to intervene, they hit and beat her also.
*Eisa Jebril was killed in his home, when reportedly a settler dressed as an IDF soldier came into his home and shot him through the head. (662) Behind Israel’s West Bank Escalation - YouTube
*Videos are widely being circulated of IDF soldiers forcing Palestinian men to strip down naked, tying them up, and then torturing them. This is reminiscent of what happened at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. This was not an isolated incident. Other men were taken, beaten, urinated on, stripped naked and tied up in animal pens.
*Famous Palestinian activist, Ahed Tamini was arrested again along with her father. Tamini is famous for slapping an IDF soldier in the face when she was 14, after an IDF soldier had her brother pinned to the ground. She was arrested and served 8 months of jail time. This time she was arrested as Israel claims she incited violence on her Instagram account. Her father was also arrested on Oct 29 while traveling to Amman. The family just recently learned he is in Ofer Prison under administrative detention for 6 months. This means there are no charges against him and there will be no trial. Israel can extend his detention if they want.
*More than 820, including 313 children Palestinians have been displaced as more homes and land is being stolen. There have been approximately 171 Settler attacks and damage to 115 Palestinian homes. Many of these incidents were then followed by confrontations between Israeli forces and Palestinians. This is in no way a comprehensive list, but just a few examples.
The US gives around 4 billion dollars a year to Israel. Biden wants to send them 14.8 billion in aid right now on top of what the US already sends to Israel. Since the year 2000, 90% of the aid the US sends to Israel funds their military.
If you don't want your tax dollars going to fund this, email and call your representatives.