Analysis: Bleak prospects for Palestinians in West Bank as global eyes remain on Gaza
By Alistair Bunkall, Middle East correspondent in Jerusalem
Only a few weeks ago, the United Nations released a statement condemning what it described as “day after day of unprecedented bloodshed” against Palestinians in the West Bank.
With global eyes mostly focussed on Gaza and increasingly the tense Israeli Lebanese border, life in the West Bank has dramatically deteriorated for Palestinians living there.
Since the Hamas attacks, the Israeli security forces have worked to prevent the West Bank becoming another front in the war, although there is evidence that their draconian approach is actually pushing the West Bank closer to collapse.
2023 was already the most violent year in the West Bank for decades, even before 7 October, and more than 500 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied territories since those attacks.
The IDF regularly launches raids into Palestinian towns, especially Jenin and Tulkarm, to arrest or kill wanted militants. These raids often lead to the deaths of civilians too. Increased military checkpoints have disrupted movement around the region for Palestinians leading to damaging consequences for the local economy.
Airstrikes, which the IDF hadn’t used as a tactic for twenty years, are now relatively commonplace – almost 50 have been carried out in the West…
