While Gaza Burns,the West Bank Remains in the Pressure Cooker

[holyland]

Palestine Monitor
29 January 2009
While Gaza burned under the weight of thousands of tons of bombs and missiles, the hardships of Palestinians in the West Bank were all but forgotten. While the sat fixated upon the systematic destruction of the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army further tightened the levers of occupation in the West Bank.
Settlements have expanded incredibly during the year 2008, despite the signature of the so-called 'Annapolis Peace Process' that entitled Israel to freeze the settlement building in the West Bank.

Within the past weeks, hundreds Palestinians West Bankers have been arrested and detained by Israeli forces, darkening the latest Israeli prisoner release of last December.

While non-violently demonstrating against the massacre in Gaza, 6 Palestinians throughout the West Bank were shot dead by the Israeli forces during the past few weeks.

Settlement structures in the West Bank increased by 57% in 2008
According to Israeli Human rights Group Peace Now, settlement structure building in the West Bank increased by 57% in 2008 over 2007 (year which also witnessed significant growth). 1,257 new structures were built in settlements during 2008, compared to 800 in 2007

The establishment of settlement outpost more than doubled within the same period: 261 structures were built in outposts, compared to 98 the year before. Outpost which unlike settlements are not recognized by the Israeli government.

Furthermore Israeli Settlers, with the complicit support of the Government and Military of Israel, more than doubled the number of 'illegal outposts' ( 261 structures in 2008 in comparison with 98 for 2007) in the West Bank despite their promises to remove them.

Altough 'Outpost' are settlers entities (the premises to a settlement) that are not recognized officially by the Israeli government, in international law there is no distinction between settlements or 'outposts' – they are both illegal.

This growth occurred after Israel's promise to halt settlement activity for the Annapolis Process and remove outposts. They fulfilled neither promise and greatly exacerbated the problems of occupation in the West Bank.

According to Peace Now, settlers have taken advantage of the recent focus on Gaza to launch an intensive construction campaign aimed at strengthening and consolidating their hold on illegally occupied land in the West Bank.

Though settler advocacy groups have disputed some of the facts of Peace Now's report, they thanked the organization for cataloguing the achievements of what they terms as the 'most important Zionist enterprise of our age.'

The expansion of settlement deliberately jeopardize the future prospects for the establishment of a viable, sovereign and independent Palestinian states as though settlements themselves only expropriate around 3% of the West Bank lands, the infrastructure of the Apartheid regime (Wall, settlements, buffer-zones, by-pass roads for settlers and checkpoints) around them covers nearly 40% of the West Bank territory.

Prisoners in the West Bank
On Dec. 15, 227 Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli jails as part of a 'confidence-building measure'.

But between this date and today, some 355 [1] Palestinians have been arrested throughout the West Bank by the Israeli army on top of the large number of those killed or injured.

Dec. 16: 31 West Bank Palestinians detained
Dec. 17: 11 West Bank Palestinians detained
Dec. 19: 15 West Bank Palestinians detained
Dec. 22: 22 West Bank Palestinians detained
Dec. 24: 5 West Bank Palestinians detained
Dec. 29: 7 West Bank Palestinians detained
Dec. 30: 3 West Bank Palestinians detained
Dec. 31: 27 West Bank Palestinians detained
Jan. 1: 4 West Bank Palestinians detained
Jan. 3: 1 West Bank Palestinians detained
Jan. 4: 1 West Bank Palestinians detained
Jan. 5: 4 West Bank Palestinians detained
Jan. 6: 27 West Bank Palestinians detained
Jan. 7: 1 West Bank Palestinians detained
Jan. 8: 3 West Bank Palestinians detained
Jan. 9: 7 West Bank Palestinians detained
Jan 11: 6 West Bank Palestinians detained
Jan 12: 6 West Bank Palestinians detained
Jan 14: 9 West Bank Palestinians detained
Jan 15: 24 West Bank Palestinians detained
Jan 17: 2 West Bank Palestinians detained
Jan 18: 1 West Bank Palestinians detained
Jan 19: 7 West Bank Palestinians detained
Jan 20: 16 West Bank Palestinians detained
Jan 21: 8 West Bank Palestinians detained
Jan 23: 8 West Bank Palestinians detained
Jan 25: 24 West Bank Palestinians detained
Jan 26: 44 West Bank Palestinians detained
Jan 27: 9 West Bank Palestinians detained
Jan 28: 8 West Bank Palestinians detained
Jan 29: 14 West Bank Palestinians detained

Throughout the assault on the Gaza Strip, an estimated 300 Palestinians were arrested, only 30 of whom have been found to have links to militant groups.

Furthermore, Defense of Children International (DCI) reported that the number of children arrested by Israeli forces and brought before military courts in the first two weeks of January is double the average for any given two week period in 2008.

Deaths in the West Bank
As the situation deteriorated in Gaza, Palestinians in the West Bank came out in force to demonstrate and show solidarity with the people. However even peaceful demonstrations can result in death here. 6 protesters, mainly teenagers, were shot dead by Israel whilst they raged their war against Hamas in Gaza.

Arafat Al Khawaja, 22, was killed on the 28th December 2008. He was shot in the back during a demonstration in the west bank town on Ni'lin, near Ramallah. Residents of the town have been protesting for over 8 months against the construction of the separation barrier, which will take roughly 40% of their land and give it to Israel . On the day he was killed residents had gathered to demonstrate in solidarity with the people of Gaza. Arafat was studying Medicinal analytical science at the Arab American university in Jenin. He had returned to the village to visit his family during the holidays.

Muhammed Al Khawaja, 20, was shot in the head and left brain dead at the same demonstration in the village of Ni'lin. He died three days later in Ramallah hospital. He was not a direct relation of Arafat.

On the 29th December 2008, another teenager Muhammed Hamid, 17, was killed in the town of Silwad, east of Ramallah. Israeli soldiers shot him three times in the chest and abdomen . He was similarly demonstrating in solidarity with the people of Gaza.

Mufid Saleh Walweel, 22, was shot in the head and died at a demonstration in the city of Qalqilya, on Sunday 4th January 2009. He was reported to have been throwing stones at Israeli soldiers who shot back with live ammunition . Naser Mustafa Odeh Al-A'raj was reportedly shot dead by settlers near Qalqilya on January 13th 2009. According to Israeli media, a settler opened fire on a group of young Palestinians who were throwing stones at Settlers' cars on a main road near the town of Azzun. The gunman was from the nearby settlement of Immanu'el. There is no report of him being arrested as a result of the incident.

Mus'ab Da'na, 15, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank city of Hebron on the 16th January 2009. Witnesses said that Israeli soldiers opened fire on young Palestinians who were throwing stones at them in the Abu Sneineh neighbourhood.

To talk of the reaction to these tragedies is not straight forward. Death has become a part of the tapestry of life within Palestine. It is a part of daily life here. This is the greatest tragedy of them all. These are not seen exceptional events but common events. Death has become normality. The West Bank may not be burning like the Gaza Strip, but it has not escaped the pressure cooker that is Israel's occupation – ensuring that there will be many more 'flare-ups' to come before an end is brought to this wretched conflict.

 
[1] Numbers are drawn from Ma'an Headlines throughout the period, and may be inaccurate in terms of exact dates as Israel routinely makes arrests in the middle of the night.