Israel Kills 1,000 Palestinians in West Bank Since October 2023

DDM News

At least 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank by Israeli forces and settlers since October 7, 2023, according to reports from Palestinian news agencies and international rights groups.

Diaspora Digital Media (DDM) gathered that this wave of deadly violence in the West Bank has been unfolding in parallel with Israel’s broader military offensive in the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in more than 56,000 deaths and the near-total displacement of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents.

This dual-front crisis has drawn global concern, with humanitarian organisations warning of unprecedented destruction and civilian suffering.

The most recent casualty in the West Bank was identified as Samer Bassam al-Zagharneh.

According to reports from the Palestinian Wafa news agency, al-Zagharneh was fatally shot on July 1 near the controversial Israeli separation barrier.

The barrier, which was constructed in 2002 and stretches deep into the West Bank, has long been a flashpoint, slicing through Palestinian towns, agricultural lands, and roads.

Israel claims the wall is a security measure aimed at preventing attacks, but Palestinians view it as a land grab that entrenches occupation and deepens apartheid-like conditions.

The barrier’s location frequently encroaches far beyond the 1967 Green Line, annexing large swathes of Palestinian territory.

The escalation of violence in the West Bank has not only involved the Israeli military but also armed settler groups, many of whom reside in communities deemed illegal under international law.

These settlers have reportedly conducted coordinated raids on Palestinian villages and towns, often under the protection or collaboration of Israeli forces.

Reports detail incidents of homes being torched, farmland destroyed, and families forcibly expelled.

Human rights groups such as B’Tselem and Human Rights Watch have documented a surge in settler attacks, with close to 1,800 incidents recorded between late 2023 and mid-2024.

These acts include shootings, home invasions, livestock theft, and destruction of crops.

In 2024 alone, Israel is reported to have seized more Palestinian land than in any single year over the past two decades. This aggressive expansion is largely attributed to the policies of Israel’s Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich.

As head of the “Settlements Administration,” Smotrich has advanced the application of Israeli civil law in portions of the occupied West Bank, an act widely regarded as a breach of international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Military operations have also intensified in key Palestinian urban centers and refugee camps, particularly in Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarem, Nur Shams, and Far’a.

These incursions have included the use of heavy weaponry, airstrikes, and siege tactics that mimic those employed in Gaza.

The consequences have been devastating: homes flattened, infrastructure damaged, and thousands of residents displaced.

International law prohibits the permanent occupation of territories seized during war and the transfer of the occupier’s population into those territories.

However, successive Israeli governments have continued to expand settlements in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War.

Currently, over 700,000 Israelis live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, often leading to friction and deadly confrontations with Palestinians.

In the villages of Kfar Malik and Taybeh, recent weeks have seen heavily armed settler mobs attacking homes and shooting at residents.

At least several Palestinians have been killed in these attacks, with local leadership describing the raids as pogrom-style violence meant to terrorize and drive out the native population.

Observers say the merging of settler violence with military policy signals a dangerous shift in the Israeli approach to the occupied territories.

Critics argue that such acts amount to ethnic cleansing and systematic displacement of Palestinians from their ancestral lands.

Despite repeated calls from the United Nations and human rights groups for an immediate halt to violence and illegal settlement activities, Israeli operations continue with impunity.

Analysts warn that the situation is nearing a breaking point and risks triggering a wider regional confrontation if left unchecked.

The Palestinian Authority has decried what it describes as “state-sponsored terrorism” and called for international intervention.

However, diplomatic pressure has so far yielded limited results, with major powers divided on how to respond to Israel’s conduct in the territories.

As the death toll continues to rise and displacement spreads, humanitarian agencies are calling for urgent action to prevent further loss of life and protect the rights of Palestinian civilians under occupation.

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