The situation in the West Bank is rapidly spiralling out of control, ActionAid is warning today, with Palestinian civilians subject to increasing attacks from both the Israeli forces and armed settlers. According to OCHA, 104 Palestinians have been killed since 7 October in the West Bank, including at least 28 children – the highest ever monthly total since the UN began keeping records in 2005.
The Israeli forces have been conducting military raids day and night in refugee camps, neighbourhoods and towns, and making widespread arrests. Some four Palestinians were killed, and 11 others were injured in a strike conducted by the Israeli Military Forces in the Jenin refugee camp early Wednesday morning, according to Palestinian reports.
Noor, a mother who lives with her family in the Jenin refugee camp, says; “To this day, some children sleep with their hands up. That is because, in the recent incursions into the camp, Israeli soldiers would barge into homes and demand all family members put their hands up in the air and surrender. Children, as a result, now subconsciously sleep with their hands up.
“They feel unsafe. Today, these boys and girls no longer feel safe in their homes. They don’t feel the walls surrounding them are protecting them anymore. They are not protected, with no sense of psychological stability. All of this would affect the reality those children live, whether they are in school, or in their social life. It also affects women who today feel that they need to handle this kind of crisis and situation, a situation that is very difficult and that affects their lives in general”.
Another mother who lives there told ActionAid that snipers took to the rooftops surrounding the camp. She said; “They fire at everything that moves in the camp with the aim of killing. They destroyed almost 15 shops and many houses that were at the entrance of the camp to give space to their army trucks and military tools, they also destroyed the Youth Club, destroyed the roads and streets inside the camp, you know the camp has very narrow streets, they destroyed it all.
It was a nightmare, I couldn’t sleep for 27 hours, watching the kids and taking care of them, they would shout and cry every time they heard the sound of a bomb, on Sunday as the military airplane was bombarding, the snipers were shooting at anything that moves. One of the killed was a man who was inside his house, actually there are five children killed the same way, inside or near their homes.”
Even before October 7, people living in Jenin refugee camp were victim to increasingly frequent military raids and attacks. Buildings destroyed during a major military operation launched by the Israeli forces in Jenin in July, in which at least 14 Palestinians were killed, are still being rebuilt.
Farah, who lives in the camp, told us of the increasing difficulties facing her community; “The residents of the camp including children, women, and youth are living hard conditions as result of Israeli violations targeting civilian innocents who try to live inside their homes in the camp. The frequent and continuous raids to Jenin refugee camps have daily impacts on the lives of children and women. Today, the women in the camp live in a state of fear, frustration and tense specially the women who lost members of their families as sons, mothers and husbands.
Daily life is becoming more and more challenging for Palestinians in the West Bank. Freedom of movement is being drastically curtailed, with new checkpoints erected and people prevented from moving from city to city, leaving some unable to access healthcare, education or their livelihoods. It is currently the olive harvesting season, but, as for the past years, for most farmers, it has become too dangerous to travel to their land and pick their olives – depriving them of a vital source of income. Hundreds have been forced to leave their homes: according to UNOCHA, within two weeks 82 households, comprising of 607 Palestinians, including 211 children have been displaced from more than 13 different communities in the West Bank.
There are already 871,000 registered refugees living in the West Bank, a quarter of whom live in 19 refugee camps. These should be places where people are free to live in safety, and yet they are increasingly coming under attack.
Farah continues; “Women in Jenin refugee camps tried to play a great role in protecting themselves and their families under lack of international protection in the Jenin refugee camp and other camps in Palestine. Mothers try to hide their sadness and injustice they experience to give more hope and provide small spaces for their children to live a quite stable and stable life. This situation affects the economic and educational aspects of the life in Jenin refugee camp. Men cannot go to their work due to strict closure of West Bank after recent escalation against Gaza. They lost their livelihood and they become unable to cover the basic needs of their families. This is the most difficult situation where people lose everything”. As the situation in the West Bank risks reaching breaking point, we call on the Israeli government to respect its obligations under international humanitarian law and to ensure the rights and protection of Palestinian people, including refugees. We remind them that refugee camps must never be a target. Riham Jafari, Advocacy and Communications Coordinator at ActionAid Palestine said: “Palestinians in the West Bank including East Jerusalem continue to face attacks from settlers, the raiding of refugee camps, the targeting of civilians including children and women, displacement, home demolitions, land confiscation, incursions into Palestinian villages and the excessive use of Lethal force. We express our concerns over the increasing movement restrictions limiting access of many to health care, education, and livelihoods.
“The Israeli authorities have a legal responsibility to ensure the protection of all Palestinians. This includes guaranteeing that any measures taken do not affect people disproportionately. De-escalation is critical to avoid further loss of life, protect civilians and ensure access to essential humanitarian services”.
In the West Bank, ActionAid has distributed 700 dignity kits in different districts in the last ten days to displaced workers from Gaza who were trapped in the West Bank since the escalation began. These kits contain essentials including toothpaste, soap and wet wipes. ActionAid continues to monitor the situation and prepare to support those affected but demand far outweighs our current capacity and this is only increasing.
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