Last year was the deadliest in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in nearly two decades, and if the first month of 2023 is any indication, far worse is yet to come.
So far this year, within a month, seven Israelis and 36 Palestinians have been killed. And while both sides may recognize the numbers, that would be the only thing they do agree on.
“We salute our institutions and the activities done to watch over our popular, peaceful resistance,” said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, senior advisor to Palestinian Authority (PA) chief Mahmoud Abbas. “We call for more activities to protect our people in the face of [Israeli] settler terrorism and the occupation forces,” he added.
As far as the Palestinians are concerned, they are peacefully resisting, and Israel is the one responsible for the high number of victims.
Yet, they ignore the fact that most of those killed were armed militants while some Palestinian factions have been quick to announce that they came from their ranks. They also draw parallels between Israeli military operations in the West Bank and a terror attack in east Jerusalem 36 hours later.
Israel, for its part, considers such events as completely different and insists that military operations, such as the one in Jenin, are necessary.
“These operations are carried out based on precise intelligence to stop the threat of an imminent attack,” said the Israeli army’s international spokesperson, Lieutenant colonel Richard Hecht.
“A terrorist deliberately targeting civilians in a synagogue is the very opposite,” he continued. “The attack on Friday night is a tragic example of what happens when the intelligence required for an operation does not exist.”
So how does the future look? Not very promising. The West Bank’s PA has been hesitant to take on those militants in Nablus and Jenin planning terror attacks, meaning the nightly Israeli incursions will continue and with them, sooner or later, a high number of Palestinian casualties.
This will likely lead to more calls for revenge from the Palestinian side – a cycle of violence that isn't about to end anytime soon.
First published: 19:01, 02.04.23