Why Are Palestinian Istishhadi Attacks in West Bank Increasing?

Alwaght- If you think that the current Israeli war on the Palestinians is only in Gaza, you are totally wrong. Israel has also been suppressing the Palestinians of the West Bank for years using various methods, from raiding their houses to seizing their lands and building illegal settlements. In fact, the Israeli military attacks on the Palestinians of the West Bank are part of a broader plan to expel them from their lands.

620 martyred

According to the UN report, since October 7, 2023, over 600 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank at the hands of the Israeli forces.

Organized violence 

Furthermore, violence against the West Bank residents is not only made by the Israeli army, and the Israeli authorities empower the settlers and encourage them to attack Palestinian communities as well. Such attacks were common before October 7, but in the past year, at the same time as the Gaza war, settler attacks have increased sharply. In the past year, the UN recorded 1,250 attacks by settlers. In these attacks, at least 120 people were killed or injured, and at least 1,000 cases of damage to Palestinian property were recorded. Settlers also attack Palestinian communities and drive their residents out of their lands and homes. More than 1,200 Palestinians have been forced to leave their homes due to daily attacks by Jewish settlers. Also, more than 3,000 people have been displaced due to the destruction of their houses by the Israeli army. 

A prison the size of cities 

The Israeli regime has long restricted movement of the Palestinians in the West Bank and established segregation walls and only-Jews roads, as well as check points across the occupied territories. Since October 7, the movement of Palestinians between villages and cities has become more restricted. The number of Israeli roadblocks and temporary checkpoints has increased from around 200 posts in October to more than 790 by early June. Some roads that connect communities are only open for limited hours. So, while Jewish settlements across the West Bank are well connected by roads and infrastructure, the areas where the Palestinians live become Bantustans that are disconnected from each other.

Istishadi (suicide) attacks, a response to suppression 

The latest istishhadi operation by Palestinians a few days ago led to the death and injury of at least 20 Israelis. These operations are carried out in response to the continued occupation and apartheid in the West Bank. 

The point we should take into consideration about the istishhadi attacks in the West Bank and other occupied territories is that the attackers totally forsake their life and carry out the operations. Having in mind that the Israelis are afraid of increase of such operations, they bend over the backwards to prevent them. They subject the families of the attackers to persecution. They destroy their homes and even force them to pay for the destruction. So, someone who attacks the Israelis with a knife or a car actually does not do a simple job. He actually had reached a degree of sacrifice and bravery that not only leaves his home and family, but also sacrifices his whole life to the anti-occupation struggle. So, the attackers are highly sacrificial and heroic, and the case about the Arabs of 1948 is even more serious. 

Six months ago, Channel 12 of Israel set off the alarm bells about rise of istishhadi attacks, saying that since start of 2023, the Palestinians managed to kill 20 Israelis. This figure has indeed increased now. 

Therefore, the atmosphere of suppression in the West Bank is a driving force behind Palestinian istishhadi attacks that begin to take a toll on the Israeli occupation.