The carnage and devastation in Gaza is ongoing, but as the world looks at the western-most land in Palestine, there are ongoing battles to the east in the Occupied Territory of the West Bank.
Tensions flared all of the summer of 2023 in the West Bank, and once the Israeli attacks began in Gaza, the Palestinians of the West Bank were also targeted by Israel and made to suffer because of the Hamas resistance operation in Israel on October 7, even though they are not connected by land.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have made daily and nightly raids into civilian homes and refugee camps in the West Bank. Thousands of Palestinians have been arrested indiscriminately, and both male and females have been singled out for prison in Israel, where the prisoner and their family are never informed of any charges, and have no legal representation.
Homes and shops have been bulldozed based on suspicions. The Israeli settlers, who are mainly US citizens living illegally on land recognized by the US and UN as land to be part of a future state of Palestine, have armed themselves with automatic rifles and pistols and have taking up 'hunting' Palestinians, whom they consider to be 'non-human'.
Despite the Jewish religious law prohibiting the destruction of any tree that bears produce, these mainly American Jewish fanatics have uprooted and burned thousands of olive trees, which are vital to Palestinians, and of historical significance.
The US government usually turns a blind eye to settler crimes, including murder, arson and maiming; however, the US President Biden has enacted sanctions on some Israeli settlers.
There is growing alarm at the prospect of a West Bank uprising, in support of their fellow Palestinians of Gaza, and because their own suffering under a brutal and longstanding military occupation is no longer sustainable. The occupation must end, and we are hearing that demand from Washington, London and across the world.
Steven Sahiounie of MidEastDiscourse has interviewed Jafar M. Ramini in an effort to shed light on the situation in Palestine: the issues and ramifications.
1. Steven Sahiounie (SS): US president Biden has announced plans to build a port in Gaza to receive humanitarian aid, which will be shipped from Cyprus. In your opinion, wouldn't it be faster and cheaper to open the gate at Rafah and allow the trucks to come in?
Jafar M. Ramini (JMR): Definitely. Every UN aid organization or NGO operating in the area declared this move to be costly, time-consuming, and ineffective. There are thousands of trucks waiting at the Rafah Crossing and they must be allowed in immediately, unfettered.
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