Analyzing the position of the West Bank in the Palestinian resistance system

Mehr News Agency, International Group: During the last three decades, the West Bank next to the Gaza Strip is one of the two It has been the main focus of resistance. The Hamas movement published a booklet entitled “This is our narrative; Why Al-Aqsa storm? One of the reasons for the October 7 operation against the depth of the occupied territories was Israel’s actions to exercise sovereignty in the West Bank. In other words, the planning and efforts of extremists such as Itamar Ben Gower, the Minister of Internal Security and Betsalel Asmutarich, the Minister of Finance of Israel, with the aim of Judaizing Jerusalem or successive aggressions to destroy the small resistance groups in the West Bank caused the resistance to feel the danger and to implement the plan of direct attack inside. Palestinian lands were occupied.

In the past five months, the West Bank has been under the strictest security measures by the Zionists, however, the acts of martyrdom of individuals or groups affiliated with the resistance have dealt severe blows to the security structures. Israel should enter. The initiative of resistance in the West Bank has caused Ben Guerr to ask Netanyahu to strictly limit and control the access of Muslims to Al-Aqsa Mosque on the eve of the holy month of Ramadan. According to Maariv’s report, despite the proposal of Ben Gower, security organizations such as Shin Bet have a different opinion and demand security measures outside the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

On Thursday, the 22nd of February, the Israeli army organized attacks throughout the West Bank after the shooting near the town of “Maale Adumim”. During one of the attacks on a car in Jenin neighborhood, at least one person was martyred and around 15 people were injured. According to Ayman Nobani, Al Jazeera’s field reporter in Nablus, Israel will not stop airstrikes against the northern West Bank, especially the Jenin region. Because this area is very inspiring for the Palestinian people and is a symbol of resistance. In the continuation of his report, he predicts that these attacks will probably increase before the arrival of Ramadan and reach an unprecedented level.

The continuation of Israel’s policy of illegal settlements in the West Bank is another clear example of Israel’s violation of international laws and violation of the Palestinians’ inalienable right to their homeland. According to “The Times of Israel”, the finance minister of the regime, Asmutarich, recently proposed the construction of 3,344 new houses in the West Bank to the Prime Minister in response to an operation near the town of “Maale Adumim”. According to the statistics published in the media, 144 Israeli settlements have been built in the West Bank, which hosts a total of 450,000 Zionists. Apart from the above, Israel has more than 100 illegal bases in this area.

The level of violence of the Israeli army and the Zionist settlements in the West Bank has been so severe that it caused the boycott of 4 Zionists living in this area. The US State Department issued a statement announcing that we made it clear to Israel that the settlers who were involved in these violence should be arrested and tried. Following this decision, London also announced that it has put these 4 people on its sanctions list. In response to this decision, the prime minister’s office and the extreme ministry of the Israeli cabinet opened their mouths to protest and in ridiculous statements called the western governments supporters of Hamas!

After the Al-Aqsa storm operation, it was not only the people of the Gaza Strip who came under the pressure and policy of “collective punishment” of the Zionist regime, but also the economy and livelihood of the people of the West Bank. also targeted In the early months of the war, the Israeli army confiscated about 2.5 million dollars in an open robbery by attacking several exchange offices in the West Bank! According to the statement of the Israeli army, the reason for such action is the exchange’s cooperation with the resistance groups. For example, after the start of the “Iron Swords” operation in the Gaza Strip, the Zionist regime revoked the work permits of 200,000 Palestinian workers in the occupied territories until further notice. In addition, Tel Aviv has refused to pay taxes related to self-governing organizations. According to estimates, after the end of the war, it will take between 1 and 2 years for the economy of the West Bank to return to the conditions before October 7.

Another aggressive policy of Israel towards the West Bank is to attack government, private and even educational centers with the aim of kidnapping people who support the resistance or protest against the occupation. To advance their military operations in the West Bank, the army and security forces of the regime use Arab-looking units to infiltrate the people, arrest and assassinate the resistance forces. For example, not long ago, three Zionist forces entered the third floor of the Ibn Sina hospital in the West Bank, disguised as doctors and nurses, and killed three Palestinian mujahids. During another of these military attacks, Zionist forces attacked Tubas and al-Fara’a camp in the West Bank and martyred the commander of the Tubas Brigade affiliated with Al-Quds Battalions of the Islamic Jihad military branch.

Nazdin Al-Mimi, the spokesperson of the West Bank University, announced that the special forces of the Israeli army entered the university in their uniforms, and “Saleh Hassan” is the head of the student council and “Omar Zaloum” is the secretary. They kidnapped the sports committee of the university. According to this informed person, 120 Palestinian students have been arrested by the Zionists and are in Israeli prisons. For legal observers and human rights institutions, the adoption of such a policy by the Israeli army does not seem strange. Since the beginning of the war until now (February 27, 2024), 9 universities in Gaza and 2 university buildings in the West Bank were either destroyed or partially destroyed.

During the last two decades, the Zionist regime has always tried to separate the political sovereignty of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip from each other, allowing the unity of the Palestinian forces and the dominance of the discourse of resistance. do not give in the mentioned lands. Now, after the Al-Aqsa storm operation, one of the bold scenarios regarding the future of Gaza is the merger of the self-governing organizations and Hamas and the formation of technocratic political organizations in the West Bank and Gaza. The announcement of the resignation of the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, Mohammad Ashtiyeh, is perhaps one of the first signs of the beginning of reforms in this Palestinian organization. Considering the importance of finding the place of the West Bank policy in the political equations between the countries of the region and the Western powers, it seems that the resistance must take important steps to establish its base in this Palestinian region. The survival and growth of the cells affiliated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad will provide the necessary ground for the continuation of the civil-armed struggle against the Zionist regime after the Al-Aqsa storm war.

Bahre Sakhan

According to Al Jazeera, from October 7, 2023 to the end of February 2024, at least 400 Palestinians were martyred and 4,450 people were injured in the West Bank. In addition to the above statistics, more than 7 thousand people have been arrested in this area by the Zionist forces. Israel’s most important security concern after the end of the war in Gaza is the possibility of a third intifada flaring up in the West Bank. The mass slaughter of Palestinians, the aggravation of economic-livelihood problems and the irregular attacks of the regime’s army and security forces on various parts of the West Bank have provided the necessary motivation for a nationwide uprising in this region. Considering the prevailing conditions in the field and at the same time the Western planning for the reconstruction and reform of the self-governing organizations, there is a greater possibility that after the end of Israel’s military aggression in Gaza, the Palestinian areas will start a nationwide uprising against the occupying forces in a unified and coordinated action. do The realization of this scenario, while reminding the struggle of the Palestinian people in the last years of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, can be a lever of new pressure against Tel Aviv to comply with the resolutions of the Security Council.