On Sunday, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared a call for a military intervention in the occupied West Bank, mirroring the actions taken in Gaza during the recent genocidal war. In a televised interview, Smotrich asserted that Israel should ‘go to war’ in the region and ‘repeat what it did in Gaza’, emphasizing the need to dismantle the Palestinian Authority and dismantle Palestinian infrastructure. He stated that Israel needs to ‘go to war in Judea and Samaria’ to ‘do there what we did in Gaza’, specifically targeting terror infrastructure and eliminating terrorist groups. Smotrich justified this action by suggesting that Israel should ‘dismantle the Palestinian Authority, which is a terror authority,’ stating that no terrorists, weapons, or tunnels should remain in the West Bank. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported over 1,330 settler-related attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank during January to late July, a record high rate in 20 years, with an average of six attacks per day. This increase in violence has been attributed to various settler groups, often supported or protected by Israeli soldiers, who are increasingly armed with military-issued weaponry and wearing military uniforms. Rights groups warn that settlers are increasingly armed and are blurring the lines between settlers and soldiers, intensifying the conflict. The Israeli government announced a comprehensive military closure across the West Bank, citing Sukkot, and increased restrictions on Palestinian movement in occupied East Jerusalem, with hundreds of Israelis storming the Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyard. This move follows a recent escalation of tensions following Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, and analysts suggest this could be a significant shift in Israeli policy toward the West Bank.
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Source: Al Jazeera
