- At least 800 Israeli military checkpoints, barriers and gates causing unprecedented movement restrictions; two-hour journeys now take twelve, hampering humanitarian response
- Largest forced displacement in West Bank since 1967 amid fears of no right of return
A dramatic rise in Israeli military violence has caused the largest forced displacement in the West Bank since the Israeli occupation began. As the ‘Gazafication’ of the West Bank unfolds, vital humanitarian work and projects are being delayed or destroyed, Oxfam warned today.
More than 40,000 people have been forcibly displaced since the Gaza temporary ceasefire came into force on 19 January – the highest number since Israel occupied the Palestinian Territory including the West Bank, in 1967. The recent Israeli military offensive across the West Bank has particularly impacted the north, with an assault on Jenin just two days after the Gaza ceasefire began, and spread now into Tulkarem, Nur Shams, and El Far’a refugee camps.
Palestinian communities across the West Bank are experiencing multiple traumas, including deaths and arbitrary detention, heavily restricted movement and access to jobs and education, and mass demolitions of homes and infrastructure.
Suhair Farraj, Director of Oxfam partner Women Media and Development, said:
“The situation was never as bad as it is now. There used to be occasional raids by the Israeli army, but nothing like this. Closures and checkpoints make aid delivery nearly impossible. A journey that should take two hours now takes twelve.”
Mustafa Tamaizeh, Economic Justice Development Manager and West Bank Response Lead, Oxfam, OPT, said:
“In the last month since the ceasefire, the Israeli escalation of violence and destruction in the West Bank has been unprecedented. The Israeli government is pursuing this destruction with full impunity while aiding and abetting illegal Israeli settlers to attack Palestinian communities.
“Effectively we are seeing fast-track annexation policies and measures that are making it increasingly difficult and dangerous for Oxfam and other organisations to deliver desperately needed humanitarian programs and reach communities. The acute needs are further compounded by the extensive forced displacement of so many people.
“Our staff and partners have reported being denied access or threatened at military checkpoints and aid deliveries blocked. Such restrictions have slowed aid efforts and increased operational costs.”
Since the beginning of the Israeli forces’ operation in the West Bank on 21 January, 51 Palestinians, including seven children, and three Israeli soldiers have been killed. At Jenin refugee camp, which is now practically deserted, reports from Oxfam partners indicate that Israeli forces have been widening roads and installing Hebrew street signs inside cleared areas.
In Jenin refugee camp, on 21 January an Israeli military attack killed at least 12 Palestinians and displaced more than 20,000 people. A young participant in a youth project run by Oxfam and a partner project said the military had been shooting at everyone, burning houses to the ground and destroying infrastructure, including hospitals. Ambulances were blocked for hours.
With attacks by illegal Israeli settlers soaring, vital humanitarian work and projects by Oxfam, its partners and other aid agencies, are being delayed. Israeli forces’ operations have caused severe damage to water and sanitation infrastructure, disrupting access to water for tens of thousands of people, leading to growing concerns for public health. Agriculture has ground to a halt.
Abbas Milhem, Executive Director of Oxfam partner Palestinian Farmers Union, said:
“Since the ceasefire in Gaza, Israel has cut off farmers from accessing their lands across the West Bank, making their lives almost impossible. This month only, the Israeli army ordered the takeover of 1,000 acres of land in the occupied West Bank, emptying the lands of farmers to make it easy for annexation and settlement expansion.
“Settlers too, have intensified their attacks. The number of settler attacks every day has multiplied. These include physical attacks, damaging and destroying local agricultural projects, uprooting and cutting down trees, and even shooting at farming communities, forcing large numbers to leave their farmland areas.”
Oxfam teams and partners have reported that many rural areas are being put under full closure, cutting off access to humanitarian aid. East Jerusalem is currently closed to Palestinians in the West Bank, as Israel has banned access beyond the restrictions imposed for decades.
Oxfam’s Mustafa Tamaizeh, added: “What we are witnessing is a calculated annexation
strategy. Overnight, movement between cities has been paralyzed, piling economic and social pressure on already struggling communities. Violations of human rights and international law are happening in plain sight, with impunity, as the international community watches on, complicit in its silence.
“As one of our partners described to me, we are now witnessing the same scenes we once watched on TV in Gaza, Rafah, and Deir Al-Balah. We are seeing the ‘Gazafication’ of the West Bank.
“The international community must not turn a blind eye while this historic displacement, de-humanisiation and destruction takes place in the West Bank. For too long, Israel’s illegal occupation, oppression and countless grave breaches of International Humanitarian Law across the OPT have been unchecked. Urgent action must be taken so Israel’s impunity ends and aid agencies are granted access to help Palestinians recover and rebuild from the violence so they can fulfill their right to self-determination and live in dignity, freed from occupation”.
For interviews, contact Lucy Brown on 0478 190 099 / lucyb@oxfam.org.au
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