Military build up and stronger partnership with US
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation "illegal," calling for the removal of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel considers the ruling illegitimate and refuses to comply. The Israeli military regularly conducts raids in the West Bank and these occurrences have escalated since the beginning of the war on Gaza. Violent settler attacks, airstrikes, mass arrests, detainment, and torture, among other forms of violence, have shaped life for over 3.3 million Palestinians living in the West Bank.
Curious to know more about life in the West Bank? Click through the gallery for more information.
In 1967, Israel annexed the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, among other territories, during the Six-Day War. At the time, these territories were under the control of Jordan as per the partition agreement issued by the United Nations.
This action marked the beginning of the official military occupation of the West Bank. Since then, Israel has established over 140 Israeli settlements in the West Bank alone, excluding East Jerusalem, containing approximately 700,000 Israelis.
There are also an additional 140 Israeli outposts, which consist of unauthorized settlements that are constructed without formal government approval, but are typically subsequently legalized by the Israeli government.
Israeli settlements and outposts are gradually but constantly expanding, encroaching on Palestinian land, and annexing more of the West Bank.
Pictured is a Palestinian woman in Bethlehem. In the background is the Israeli settlement, Efrat.
Since the war on Gaza began, 43 new outposts have been established in the West Bank, which has led to the expulsion of at least 15 Palestinian villages. Well over 1,500 Palestinians in the West Bank have been displaced since October 2023.
The image shows Palestinians next to a damaged home in Zanuta village, close to the city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Their village was destroyed, and they were displaced by Israeli settlers in August 2024.
Over 20,000 settlement housing units were approved by the Israeli government in 2023 alone.
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice reached a critical decision about Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The Court declared the occupation illegal and therefore issued a directive stating that all settlements and outposts are considered illegal and should be removed.
The directive also ordered that Israeli forces should be withdrawn from the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel immediately declared the Court’s decision illegitimate and rejected the directives to clear settlement activity.
Israeli military activity in the West Bank has continued to escalate in the occupied territories and elsewhere. Raids and confrontations have increased significantly.
Human rights organizations estimate that over 11,600 Palestinians in the West Bank have been arrested since October 2023, including over 600 children.
This wave of arrests largely consists of administrative detentions. This refers to a person who is held without trial or charge. The basis of this form of arrest is preventative, based on claims that the Israeli military believes that the arrested individual plans to commit a crime in the future.
Evidence is typically considered classified, which offers no basis for detainees to argue their case, as they do not know the reasons they are being held in captivity.
In these cases, detainees are held up to six months, a period of time which can be renewed endlessly, as long as they claim that the person in question poses a threat to public safety.
Thousands of Palestinians have been held under administrative detention, some for several years, without charge and without disclosure of evidence held against them.
Pictured are relatives of Palestinians, carrying photos of their loved ones in protest of their detainment.
Although detainees must be brought before a military court judge, the prosecution’s request for detention is overwhelmingly approved, allowing for a cycle of detention.
Israeli human rights organization B’tselem considers administrative detention to be an abuse of power. Although courts review detention orders and make their decisions accordingly, human rights organizations argue that this process is merely a formality that fails to challenge any detention orders, but rather reinforces the idea of a procedure.
Both those imprisoned and held in administrative detention face difficult circumstances. Reports of torture, sexual abuse, and other violations have been documented by human rights organizations.
Pictured is former Palestinian prisoner, Fathi Abdulal, who was released from an Israeli prison with open wounds.
These measures are sanctioned by the Israeli Supreme Court and the Israeli Security Agency, who argue that these methods are in place for the sake of national security, in efforts to prevent terrorism.
Palestinians in Israeli jails are often denied the right to meet with legal representatives. Those who have legal representation are often denied the right to meet with their lawyers.
Palestinians and Israeli settlers in the West Bank are governed under separate criminal justice systems. Palestinians are ruled by military law, and are, therefore, prosecuted within the military court system.
Israeli settlers are ruled under civil and criminal law. Therefore, they are prosecuted within civil courts. This distinction impacts not only the conditions and circumstances in which Palestinians can be detained but also what actions warrant arrest.
Accordingly, settlers have exercised terror on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, often under the supervision and protection of the Israeli military.
In 2024, there were over 1,400 incidents of documented settler violence in the West Bank by November. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), this amounts to approximately four incidents per day.
Immediately following the October 7 attacks, the Israeli National Security Minister distributed 120,000 firearms to settlers. In October 2023 alone, 223 incidents were documented, some leading to deaths and others to severe property damage.
In 2024 alone, Israeli forces have destroyed or taken over nearly 2,000 structures, including civilian infrastructure and residential buildings, among others.
Since the war on Gaza began, over 750 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, 164 of which have been children. More than 6,250 Palestinians have also been injured. Retaliatory attacks have led to the death of 24 Israelis during the same period.
Airstrikes have also occurred in the West Bank, which the Israeli military says is directed toward gunmen and terrorist groups. However, children and women have also been targeted.
In October 2024, the Israeli Air Force bombed a three-story residential building in a refugee camp in the West Bank city of Tulkarem. Israel claims the attack targeted a militant with the intention of conducting attacks against settlers. The airstrike claimed the lives of at least 18 people, including three women and two children.
This airstrike is part of an increasing pattern of the unlawful use of lethal force by Israeli authorities during military operations in the West Bank and elsewhere.
In addition to claiming the lives of innocent civilians, subverting the use of due processing and adequate processes of legal review, these actions also attempt to normalize what the UN deems an unacceptable form of law enforcement.
Sources: (Britannica) (ICJ) (B’TSELEM) (Human Rights Watch) (Al Jazeera) (BBC) (ReliefWeb) (OCHA) (OHCHR) (Reuters) (The Economist) (NPR)
See also: How international law fails to protect civilian life
Despite the widespread mistreatment and torture, there have only been a total of three criminal investigations, none of which led to indictment.
Increasing tensions in the West Bank: what you need to know
Settler attacks, mass arrests, airstrikes, and demolitions
LIFESTYLE Palestine
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation "illegal," calling for the removal of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel considers the ruling illegitimate and refuses to comply. The Israeli military regularly conducts raids in the West Bank and these occurrences have escalated since the beginning of the war on Gaza. Violent settler attacks, airstrikes, mass arrests, detainment, and torture, among other forms of violence, have shaped life for over 3.3 million Palestinians living in the West Bank.
Curious to know more about life in the West Bank? Click through the gallery for more information.