5 Threats to the Palestinian Existence in the West Bank

The Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank constitutes one of the most serious challenges facing the Palestinian people today. Far from being merely an urban expansion, settlement represents a strategic project aimed at dismantling the geographical, social, economic, and political structure of the West Bank.

Here are the six most devastating results of this expansion:

1-    Cutting up the West Bank and turning it into isolated islands:

Settlements are established in strategic locations, linked by roads designated solely for settlers, which results in the fragmentation of Palestinian cities and villages and transforms the West Bank into isolated cantons. This reality disrupts the movement of Palestinians, isolates communities from one another, and undermines any natural geographic or social connectivity.

Example:

The network of bypass roads, such as the "Samaritan Bypass Road," where Palestinian vehicles are prohibited from using, separates the northern West Bank from the southern West Bank, making travel between major cities like Nablus, Hebron, and Ramallah extremely difficult without passing through security checkpoints and the separation barrier.

2- Confiscation of land and natural resources:

Settlement is often established on fertile agricultural land, which disrupts the livelihoods of Palestinian farmers. Additionally, settlers seize water sources and wells, which increases poverty rates and severely impacts the local economy.

Example:

The settlement of "Ariel," built on the lands of Salfit Governorate, controls tens of thousands of agricultural and water dunams, denies local residents access to their lands, and depletes groundwater sources for the benefit of factories and settlement farms.

3- Forced displacement and silent ethnic cleansing:

The construction of settlements is accompanied by the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes through fabricated legal pretexts or security justifications, along with the demolition of houses and the refusal to issue building permits. The result is systematic displacement operations aimed at emptying the land of its original owners in silence.

Example:

In Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, the occupation authorities are seeking to evict more than 1,000 Palestinians from their villages on the pretext that it is a military training area, despite the fact that residents have lived there for decades. Collective demolition orders have been issued for their homes, schools, and mosques.

4- Escalation of settler attacks:

The West Bank witnesses daily systematic assaults by settlers against Palestinians, including property burning, tree uprooting, physical assaults, and sometimes gunfire, all under the protection of the occupation army or its indifference.

Example:

In the town of Hawara near Nablus, hundreds of settlers launched a massive attack on the town in February 2023, during which they burned homes and cars. One Palestinian was killed, and dozens were injured, amid coverage from the Israeli army, which the Israeli media later described as a night of unchecked hate.

5- Escalation of the religious nature of the conflict:

Some settlements are being built around sensitive religious sites, which ignites tensions of a religious nature and transforms the conflict from a political dispute over land and rights into an existential religious struggle, increasing the risk of an explosion and closing the doors to de-escalation

Example:

Settlement in the heart of Hebron, especially near the Ibrahimi Mosque, has led to the displacement of hundreds of Palestinian families and turned the city center into a military barracks. Additionally, the establishment of settlement outposts around Al-Aqsa Mosque and underground (excavations) is being exploited to incite religious extremists and push towards a "holy war.

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