Repeated military strikes, lengthy checkpoints, seizure of homes, neighborhoods, and, in a word, “apartheid,” describe the situation facing the Palestinians in the West Bank.
Palestinians in the West Bank are in a situation that is hard to see anywhere else in the world. The West Bank is a large prison with tightly controlled Palestinian residents.
The living conditions of the people of Gaza have been mentioned many times, and the 16-year siege in the region and the people living in surreal and strange conditions have been mentioned, but the situation of the people of the West Bank is less mentioned; It should be noted that the inhabitants of the West Bank are not under siege (as in Gaza), but it cannot be said that they are free.
This article tries to paint a picture of the life of the inhabitants of the West Bank and the conditions prevailing in the region and in the Palestinian towns and villages. The root of these problems lies in the word “occupation”; The Zionists have created a situation in the West Bank where the Palestinians have to wait every day for humiliation, deprivation of liberty, detention and shooting of agents. Especially in a situation where the PA also takes the side of the Zionists in this equation.
The West Bank (the western part of the Jordan River is the reason for this naming is a detailed issue that needs to be addressed at another time.) 21% of the total area of ​​Palestine is approximately 5,860 square kilometers.
Checkpoints and Obstacles
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in June 2018, more than 705 obstacles such as checkpoints, roadblocks, fencing, trenching and trenching in the West Bank (excluding East Jerusalem), freedom of movement has severely restricted the Palestinians.
According to the Israeli newspaper Hume, on January 21, 2021, 150 Zionist settlements with a population of 476,000 Zionists have been built in the West Bank so far. These settlements are scattered from south to north and the center of the West Bank. A Palestinian on his way from one city to another sees several Zionist settlements on his way. It is enough for the license plate to be Palestinian, then it should stop at every headquarters and the inspection should stop in order to be fully inspected. The behavior of the Zionists, in addition to these hardships, is itself another torment.
Mahmoud al-Tamimi is a teacher in the village of Deir Nezam. He told the Anatolian News Agency that when he returned to the village, he suddenly noticed that the Zionist regime had blocked the entrance to the village. No matter how much he insists, he will not be allowed to enter the village and the officers tell him that he has to go around several villages to enter from another part of the village. So al-Tamimi, who could enter his house in five minutes, drove for two hours to pass through other villages to enter his place of residence.
His village has become a large prison, he said, and residents have to drive 40km instead of 3km to travel to a nearby village.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), these barriers and inspections have disrupted the normal life of Palestinians.
Racial policy
On April 27, the World Human Rights Watch reported on the Zionist regime’s policy of segregation (apartheid) in the West Bank and wrote that it has been 54 years since Israeli authorities began relocating Jews to the occupied West Bank, and they have made every effort to encourage families to move to the area.
The Palestinians do not have freedom in completely Palestinian cities either, the movement of goods is under the control of the Zionists. Arbitrary detentions and night raids on Palestinian homes while residents are sleeping have become a common occurrence in the West Bank. The court of the Zionist regime will issue any ruling that the security agencies want immediately. In addition, settlers enter Palestinian villages without a court order and with military support, and begin beating and destroying Palestinian public and private property.
The Observatory continued: “Israeli regime officials have made it clear that they intend to continue this policy forever and will not give up settlements on Palestinian lands.”
On the other hand, the Palestinians are not allowed to build or even renovate their houses in the West Bank, so they are forced to leave the house after severe erosion. Human Rights Watch described the policy as “inhumane.”
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians outside the West Bank are also barred from entering and residing in the region. No IDPs have the right to return as if they have never lived in Palestine, but Jews can come from South America and claim ownership in the West Bank.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) wrote last month that Palestinians in the West Bank do not have a dignified life. According to the report, in addition to the checkpoints, which are one of the main causes of disruption in the lives of Palestinians, the wall is also a clear violation of human rights.