Mehmet Rakipoğlu
After the Gaza ceasefire came into effect on January 19, 2025, the surge in Israel-led violence in the occupied West Bank reflects a broader Israeli strategy to strengthen its control overPalestinian territories through military force, settler aggression, and systematic displacement.In this context, Israel has intensified its “military operations” in the West Bank, where settler terrorism plays a critical role in the occupation, and these actions have significant humanitarian consequences. All of these developments fit within the historical context of Israel’s colonial project in Palestine, demonstrating the persistence of a neocolonial mindset.
Military Operations and Settler Violence
Since October 7, 2023, the West Bank has experienced an unprecedented wave of Israeli military operations and settler violence. According to the United Nations Office for theCoordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), nearly 900 Palestinians have been killedin the West Bank since October 2023, including 187 children. Most of these deaths resulted from gunfire by Israeli occupation forces, particularly in refugee camps such as Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams. Historically central to Palestinian resistance, these areas have suffered repeated raids, drone strikes, and sieges. These operations have frequently led to the destruction of infrastructure and the obstruction of medical access.
Launched by the Israeli occupation forces in January 2025, the ‘Iron Wall Operation’ represents a major intensification of Israeli aggression in the West Bank. Described byDefense Minister Israel Katz as a shift in security strategy, the operation closely mirrors the tactics used in Gaza, particularly in its disregard for civilian casualties. In essence, Israel aims to replicate in the West Bank the genocide it has been committing since October 7, effectively“Gazzanizing” the region.
As part of this Gaza-style genocidal campaign, Israel has forcibly displaced more than 40,000 Palestinians, primarily from the Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps—the largest displacement in the West Bank since the 1967 occupation. This forced expulsion is not incidental but rather a deliberate strategy aimed at depopulating Palestinian areas and facilitating the expansion of Israeli settlements.
Settler violence has also intensified, with more than 1,800 attacks reported between October2023 and January 2025. These attacks were often carried out with the tacit approval or direct participation of the Israeli army and targeted Palestinian homes, livestock, and agricultural ands. Settler extremist groups, now with representation in the Israeli Knesset and backed by the Israeli government, openly call for the forced expulsion of Palestinians and the annexation of their lands.
In particular, the establishment of settler farms and outposts in Area C has further restrictedPalestinian access to grazing lands and water resources, undermining their livelihoods and forcing many to abandon their homes.
Historical Context and Continuity of Colonialism
The current escalation can be understood within the broader historical context of Israel’s colonial project in Palestine. Since its creation in 1948, Israel has systematically pursued a policy of territorial expansion and demographic engineering, aiming to strengthen its holdover Palestinian land while erasing the indigenous Palestinian presence. The occupation of theWest Bank and Gaza in 1967 marked a new phase in this project, with settlement construction and military rule designed to fragment Palestinian territories and undermine the possibility of statehood.
The Oslo Accords of the 1990s, rather than advancing Palestinian self-governance, divided the West Bank into Areas A, B, and C, allowing Israel to retain full control over Area C, which constitutes 60% of the territory. The expansion of settlements, the construction of the separation wall, and the systematic denial of building permits to Palestinians have furtherentrenched Israeli control while making Palestinian life increasingly unbearable.
Thus, Israeli terror in the West Bank and the current escalation are a continuation of theZionist colonial logic. By displacing Palestinians, demolishing their homes, and restrictingt heir access to resources, Israel is creating de facto conditions that make a two-state solution impossible. The Israeli government’s official documents, which rename the West Bank as “Judea and Samaria” and push for legislative efforts toward annexation, demonstrate Israel’s view of the West Bank as an inseparable part of its state.
The Role of the Palestinian Authority
The Palestinian Authority (PA) has also played a critical role in Israel’s genocidal wars and ethnic cleansing policies. Under the leadership of Mahmoud Abbas, who has not allowed elections since 2006, the PA has acted as an accomplice in Israel’s theft of Palestinian rights. In an effort to maintain its weak authority, the corrupt administration has mimicked Israeli tactics by conducting raids and arrests in Jenin and other areas.
These actions, often coordinated with Israeli forces, have turned the PA into a subcontractor of the occupation rather than a legitimate representative in the eyes of the Palestinian population. The PA’s failure—or unwillingness—to protect Palestinian lives has deepened the sense of abandonment among West Bank residents, pushing many toward armed resistance as the only viable option. By adopting Israeli tactics against its own people, the Abbas administration is directly fueling the justification for armed resistance.
Humanitarian Consequences and International Complicity
The humanitarian impact of Israel’s destructive policies, along with the complicity of thePalestinian Authority in the occupation, has been severe in the West Bank. The destruction of homes, roads, and infrastructure has rendered entire communities uninhabitable, while restrictions on medical access have led to preventable deaths.
In one particularly harrowing incident, Israeli forces blocked medical teams from reaching Sundus Shalabi, a pregnant woman who was shot during a raid in Nur Shams, resulting in her and her unborn child’s death. Such actions violate international humanitarian law, which prohibits attacks on medical personnel and facilities and mandates that occupying for cesensure the well-being of the civilian population.
The international community’s response to these violations has been grossly inadequate. Despite clear evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity—including collective punishment and forced displacement—world leaders have largely remained silent. The Biden administration’s decision to impose minor sanctions on a handful of settlers was later reversed by the Trump administration, exposing a lack of meaningful accountability.
This impunity has further emboldened Israeli policymakers and settlers, who interpret international inaction as a green light for more violence and land grabs. In other words, Israel derives its power from the absence of consequences.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the escalation of violence in the West Bank is not an anomaly but the logical outcome of decades of impunity and international complicity. The lessons learned from Gaza—Israel’s targeting of civilians, destruction of infrastructure, and mass displacement, all carried out with little to no repercussions—have now been applied to the West Bank, with devastating consequences for Palestinian lives.
The international community’s failure to hold Israel accountable has emboldened Zionist politicians to pursue even more aggressive policies.
For Palestinians, the path to statehood and an end to the occupation is fraught with challenges. The theft of their fundamental rights, including self-determination, the fragmentation of the irland, and the complicity of their own leadership leave them with few options beyond armed resistance. As history has shown, armed resistance against colonial oppression often arises from desperation. The current wave of violence may trigger a new phase of popular resistance in the West Bank and beyond.
The international community—particularly Muslim-majority countries and nations that uphold justice—now stands at a crossroads. The first is to take concrete steps to hold Israel accountable for its 75 years of ethnic cleansing, genocide, and terror, including severing allties and isolating Israel. If this first option is not pursued, the second and more likely out come will be the continued theft of Palestinian rights and the further entrenchment of Israel’s apartheid and neocolonial regime. Inaction in the face of Israel’s grave violations only serves to strengthen its expansionist and genocidal ambitions.