Israeli rabbi: destroy Al-Aqsa with missile & blame it on Iran

 

War on Gaza: Aid workers killed in Israeli strike on humanitarian convoy

 An Israeli air strike has hit a humanitarian aid convoy laden with medical supplies and fuel for an Emirati-run hospital in Rafah, killing several workers.

Israeli forces claimed the attack targeted “armed assailants” who were attempting to hijack the convoy, which was organised by the US charity, Anera.

But Anera said that several employees of the transportation company it had worked with had been killed in the attack. 

All the fatalities were in the vehicle leading the convoy, which was the target of the attack.

According to unconfirmed reports, five people were killed in the strike.

New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch

Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters

Anera reported that the convoy had been approved by Israeli authorities. 

In a statement Israeli forces confirmed the authorisation but claimed in a statement that “during the convoy’s movement, a number of armed assailants seized control of the vehicle in the front of the convoy (a Jeep) and began to lead it.”

The military further claimed that it had contacted Anera following the attack, and that the organisation had confirmed that “all of the convoy’s organisation members and humanitarian aid were safe and reached their destination as planned”.

Israel's attack on World Central Kitchen is part of its cynical war strategy

Read More »

Anera confirmed that the convoy had reached the hospital, and that only one of its employees had been travelling as part of it. The NGO added that they were unharmed in the attack.

“We are urgently seeking further details about what happened,” Anera’s Palestine country director, Sandra Rasheed said.

The air strike shortly follows another attack by Israeli forces on a convoy of two clearly marked World Food Programme trucks, prompting the UN to announce it was suspending its activities in Gaza.

"Despite being clearly marked and receiving multiple clearances by Israeli authorities to approach, the vehicle was directly struck by gunfire as it was moving towards an Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) checkpoint. It sustained at least ten bullets: five on the driver’s side, two on the passenger side and three on other parts of the vehicle," the WFP said in a statement.

In April, a deadly Israeli air strike targeted a World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid convoy killing seven aid workers.

Middle East Eye reported in April that at least 357 humanitarian-run sites and convoys in Gaza whose coordinates had been shared in advance with warring parties were hit before the WCK attack.

UN officials and aid workers told MEE it had been clear for months that the humanitarian notification system in Gaza was broken.

Rohingya Refugee Crisis Hits 7-Year Mark

 

UNICEF USA

BRANDVOICE| Paid Program

Aug 29, 2024,11:46am EDT

Updated Aug 29, 2024, 11:47am EDT

As refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, struggle to withstand major threats to their health and well-being, conflict and crises continue back home in Myanmar. UNICEF teams are on the ground in both countries doing what they can to make sure children and families are supported and protected. Donor support is needed to help sustain and scale these efforts.

Two of roughly 500,000 Rohingya refugee children growing up in camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Many child refugees were born there. “Over the past 12 months, we have been increasingly concerned about the security situation in the camps and reports of child rights violations," UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in an Aug. 25 statement marking the seventh anniversary of the crisis. "We stand ready to support the new interim government of Bangladesh to ensure that these children are protected and have access to critical services." 

© UNICEF 2024

A protracted emergency: UNICEF’s ongoing support for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh amid rising malnutrition, other threats to children

On Aug. 25, 2017, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya families started pouring into Bangladesh, fleeing by boat or on foot to escape brutal violence and persecution in Myanmar's western coastal state of Rakhine.

In a matter of days, there were over 700,000 new refugees sheltering in Cox's Bazar, a district of Chittagong on the Bay of Bengal. They joined the refugees who were already there, the result of previous waves of displacement, bringing the total Rohingya population to nearly 1 million.

Seven years later, the Rohingya refugees are still there — still exiled from their home country, their futures uncertain; living in temporary shelters in congested camp settings that are highly vulnerable to extreme weather and other climate shocks, and completely dependent on humanitarian assistance.

Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar remain solely dependent on humanitarian assistance with limited or no source of livelihood. While UNICEF and partners — including the new interim government — continue to provide lifesaving services including safe water, sanitation, education, nutrition, health and protection from violence, the needs are massive, requiring long-term investments until it is safe for repatriation back to Myanmar. 

© UNICEF/UNI622206/NJIOKIKTJIEN

Working with the interim government of Bangladesh and other partners, UNICEF has been and continues to provide water and sanitation to refugee children and families, support diarrheal treatment centers, enable access to other health and nutrition services for children and pregnant women, ensure children's access to quality education and support children affected by violence, abuse and neglect with protection and response services.

UNICEF also provides treatment for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in the form of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF). The number of Rohingya refugee children suffering from SAM, also called child wasting, has spiked in recently months, prompting UNICEF to ramp up supplies.

“Bangladesh’s continued support to the refugee population — especially children — is both commendable and critical,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said. “Over the past 12 months, we have been increasingly concerned about the security situation in the camps and reports of child rights violations. We stand ready to support the new interim government of Bangladesh to ensure that these children are protected and have access to critical services.”

Learn more about what UNICEF is doing to help Rohingya refugees.

UNICEF also responding to crises for children inside Myanmar

Meanwhile, conflict continues to intensify in Rakhine. There has been a recent surge in the number of civilian casualties and further displacement of children and families, prompting more people to seek shelter and protection in Bangladesh.

Humanitarian crises are multiplying all across Myanmar, in fact. UNICEF reports that conditions are dire and rapidly deteriorating, with health and education systems near collapse.

UNICEF teams inside Myanmar are doing what they can to protect children's rights and support their access to essential services. Yet humanitarian access remains extremely challenging.

UNICEF is calling on all parties to conflict in Myanmar to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law to protect civilians, particularly children, and ensure their safety and well-being.

UNICEF is also calling for safe and unimpeded access to deliver humanitarian aid by all humanitarian actors.

Learn more about UNICEF’s mission in Myanmar.

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to create a more equitable world where all children are healthy, educated, protected and respected.Support UNICEF. Donate today.

Maryanne Murray Buechner

Maryanne Murray Buechner is Deputy Editorial Director at UNICEF USA. Based in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY, she is a former daily newspaper reporter and contributor to TIME magazine. She holds an M.S. from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and a B.A. from Georgetown. Her musings about being an American expat in Tokyo from 2007-2012 live on in the blogosphere.

 

 

Mokammel Shuvo

Thu Aug 29, 2024 07:16 PM
Last update on: Thu Aug 29, 2024 07:26 PM

Intense fighting in Maungdaw raises fresh Rohingya influx fears

Caption-spiral smoke was seen across the border fron Sabrang union of Teknaf. The photo was taken on Tuesday. Photo: Mokammel Shuvo 

Intense fighting in Maungdaw raises fresh Rohingya influx fears

Fear of a new influx of Rohingyas from Myanmar grew as fighting intensified around Maungdaw Township in Rakhine state opposite Subrang union of Teknaf.

Residents said, for the last 3 days, they are hearing loud sounds of explosions, and the sounds of fighter jets and helicopter gunships flying across the border.

The fighting was going on till filling this report at 4:00pm.

This area is populated predominantly by the Rohingya community, who are recently facing brutal crackdown by the Arakan Army, said Rohingyas in the Bangladeshi refugee camps.

A recent incident that killed around 200 Rohingyas in a drone attack drew attention of the international community though it could not be determined whether the Arakan Army or Myanmar Junta troops carried out the attack.

A number of Rohingyas assumed to be around 10,000 fled to Bangladesh facing the atrocities from both parties recently, according to the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) sources who sought anonymity.

Both parties are using Rohingyas as human shields, the people of ethnic Muslim majority population in Myanmar.

"Apart from the continuous sound of mortar shells, today (Thursday) we heard loud sounds that we didn't hear before," said Anwar Foysal, a resident of Nayapara village under Sabrang.

"We are frightened hearing the sounds of the explosion," he added.

Noor Hossain, chairman of Sabrang union Parishad, said, the intensity of the fighting has incresed recently.

Rohingyas might flee to Bangladesh if this type of situation continues there, Noor added.

Kefayet Ullah, a young Rohingya leader of Ukhiya refugee camp, claimed that oppressed by the Arakan Army and Military Junta troops, Rohingyas are coming to the camp of Cox's Bazar every night.

Mohiuddin Ahmed, commanding officer of Border Guard Battalion 2 in Teknaf said they are vigilant along the border to prevent any kind of trespassing.

So far many Rohingya boats were returned by the BGB from the Naf River, he added.

How Rohingya women are targeted for sex slavery

 

Pinky Akter

Asiya (not her real name) and her eight family members moved to Bangladesh in 2017 following persecution by the Myanmar military in Rakhine state. She moved into Muchuni Camp in Cox’s Bazar with her grandparents and siblings after losing her parents.

After five years, Sanjida (45), a Rohingya refugee who lives in Camp-4 Kutupalong, assured her that she would be given work as a cleaner at a hotel. But in the end, she was compelled to work as a sex slave.

"Sanjida sold me here for Tk 40,000. I couldn’t do anything when I came to know that later," Asiya said, adding that she could not leave this work later because she received death threats from sex trade owner.

Asiya is now sixteen years old, yet she appears like an adult. Asiya claims that this is because of Oradexon, a steroid drug, known as red pill among the locals.  

Like Asiya, many other Rohingya refugee women find themselves at different cottages at Kolatoli in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh’s southern district that gave refuge to more than one million Rohingya refugees since the violent crackdown on the Muslim ethnic groups in Rakhine state, Myanmar in 2017.

Rohingya women residing in the camps in Cox’s Bazar end up in the hands of cottage owners who run the illegal sex trade after they are offered jobs there.

In a 2017 BBC article, it was revealed that Rohingya women are being forced into prostitution by people who take advantage of their vulnerability. Other International media also show this scenario.

There have been numerous rescue operations in recent years. During an operation in Khilgaon, Dhaka on March 26, 2019, RAB-3 rescued four Rohingya women who had been trafficked here for human trafficking.

On March 1 this year, Cox’s Bazar tourist police conducted an operation at the cottage zone where ten Rohingya young women were rescued from the underground of three anonymous hotels.

DIG Apple Mahmud of tourist police said, “These girls are brought here from numerous camps with the use of deception.”

However, the Cox’s Bazar District Police, when asked, said they were unaware of any such operation.

The police super Md Mahfuzul Islam said, “No such work is going on here, we are not aware of this operation. He will speak with the tourist police about this matter.”

Hotel owners accused the police administration of having some indirect involvement in this matter.

“Local police know about our business because monthly we give a fixed amount of money (bribe) to some local police officers [he didn't mention an exact name],” said Lokman, owner of a hotel in Cox's-bazar cottage area where many young Rohingya girls are now involved in this illegal trade.

While the Rohingya population arrived in Bangladesh at various occasions over the years, the majority arrived in 2017 as a result of persecution by the military in their own country.

According to the United Nations, the total Rohingya refugee population in Bangladesh is more than 960,000 now, with 75 per cent of them being women and children, according to unrefugees.org.

Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar are surrounded by barbed wire fences to prevent them from mixing with Bangladeshi nationals. This reporter found that these barricades were cut in several places in the camps in Kutupalong and Balukhali.

Several rival insurgent groups like Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO), and Islamic Mahaz are active inside the camps, and they are involved with kidnapping, drug-peddling and power-rifts.

Mohammad Amir Zafar, commander of the Armed Police Battalion – a specialised unit of Bangladesh Police responsible for security inside the camps, said, “There are various criminal gangs in the camp. We are constantly trying to prevent human trafficking in the camp.”

As the security in the camps is getting weakened day by day, women, just like the men, are left with no work opportunities, and they have become one of the most vulnerable groups among the refugees.

Their vulnerabilities are making them the victims of different crimes, including trafficking, sex services, and kidnapping, according to news.un.org.

How the whole network works

There are about 15 to 20 cottages in the Cox Bazar Kolatoli area, of which 8 to 9 have no signboards.

Md Lokman, Md Asif, Md Siraj, Md Shahin (also known as Pan Shahin), and Md Rahim are the owners of these unnamed cottages. There are 50 to 100 girls - aged from 12 to 25 years - who serve in each cottage.

Some of those who work with the traffickers are Rohingya women themselves.

The head Majhi of camp 11, Billal Sheikh, informed that the groups of Rohingya women gangs in the camp target helpless families, especially widows and girls from families who had lost their husbands and fathers, and forced them out of the camp using various deceits.

“Everyone here is Muslim so we deem this profession as [a] grave sin. And the religious organisations inside the Rohingya camps act harsh when it comes to anything about women. Even if such a thing [about] a girl got out in public, her family is subjected to violence,” said Billal .

Sanjida Begum arrived in Bangladesh from Myanmar in 1989 and settled at Camp-4 in Kutupalong. As part of the trafficking ring, she targets Rohingya women who arrived during the 2017 Rohingya refugee crisis, and are mostly without their parents, husband or brother.

She promises the refugee women jobs to entice them to engage in sex services. Shanina Akter, a 40-year-old Rohingya woman, is also involved.

Sanjida was found guilty of human trafficking and sentenced to five years in jail. She was released in 2020, and she is again back to this business.

Asiya, one of the victims, revealed that Sanjida tricked numerous other girls and sold them to the cottage owners by offering them lucrative jobs, and she receives between twenty and forty thousand takas for each sale.

The Officer in Charge of the Cox’s Bazar police station, Rakibuzzaman, blamed the gaps in the criminal justice system for this. “Even if these criminals were brought under the law, they come out after a few days because of the law's loopholes,” Rakibuzzaman added.

The US State Department's annual report on human trafficking, “Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report 2024,” states that the Bangladesh government has not adequately investigated and prosecuted trafficking cases related to the exploitation of Rohingya refugees.

The report also stated that the government has not established any new anti-trafficking tribunal. Victim protection efforts remain inadequate. Officials often lack a victim-centered approach when communicating with or talking to survivors of trafficking.

When asked, Md Lokman, the owner of the cottage eventually admitted that he is involved with the sex trade too before this business he was a hotel boy.

He was questioned about how he managed to maintain his business operations despite being often jailed. In response, he said, "I have been paying the police their dues every month since the beginning of this business."

However, there was no way to verify this claim further.

There are agents that bring in clients for these cottages. Additionally, in response to client requests, they also send these Rohingya girls to several additional hotels at Cox’s Bazar.

Depending on the woman offered, clients pay up to Tk 1,000 – 5,000 per hour for this service.

To maintain track of the number of customers, girls are handed a blue token for each client. These hotels bring in five to six million taka a month, yet the women who are forced to work as sex workers here get pitiful wages.

Ruhina, a 17-year-old sex worker of Asif's hotel, stated, "I am given only Tk 4,000 monthly here and for this I must go to 4 to 5 customers daily.

"We are not allowed to keep any money from clients, not even tips that they may leave us after using my services. Here, we are unable to take any action without the approval of the owner. We get beaten if we don’t listen to them," Ruhina continued.

"And they threaten to kill me if I want to leave this work," she added.

Women are subjected to various forms of violence

Although they sought refuge in Bangladesh in order to flee the torture, Rohingya women continue to be subjected to various forms of assault inside the camps. Besides sex trafficking, these harmful acts are committed not only by family members, but also members of the authorities.

According to a report by the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA), the Myanmar military and police force raped almost 18,000 Rohingya women of various ages.

According to a rescue.org report, 81 per cent of gender-based violence (GBV) occurs between close relatives in the 19 refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, according to the International Rescue Committee.

In 56 per cent of such instances, they are the targets of physical abuse. The majority of Rohingya women have experienced sexual abuse and gender-based violence at the hands of their spouses, relatives, and members of criminal groups.

Rape, forced marriage, emotional and physical abuse, and threats are instances of this violence.

“Here, precariousness and insecurity are a part of everyday existence. Miscreants persistently harass our girls and peep inside our house,” Kulsum, a mother of four daughters, helplessly states.

However, the majority of Rohingya refugees – especially the women – are not allowed to work outside of the camp.

Additionally, our family endures pressure from different religious groups within the camp,” said Saleya, a fellow Rohingya resident of Kutupalong refugee camp.

Religious leaders frequently spearhead campaigns encouraging women to abstain from outdoor labor. Even when the ladies go out in public, they are asked to wear burqas.

What are the women victimised saying?

In the report, ten women who were duped into the sex trade were interviewed.

"I want to live a normal life like every other woman," Moni, one of the victims, sobbed as she spoke to the reporter.

"This is a physically exhausting line of work for me. I wish to live a tranquil life and get rid of this work,” she added.

It was Moni’s own sister-in-law who introduced her to this work. Because of poverty, she turned to this profession for a living. She resides in the camp with her two children, but nobody in the camp is aware of her professional life.

If her community found out, she would be shunned. She is still determined to escape this prostitute life.

"Here we are, living in confinement, having been denied residence in our own country. Nobody is giving us a job. How are we going to continue? What kind of life will we lead? What would my children's future hold? Where are we going to go?" frustrated, Asiya, another sex worker, asked again and again.

"We did not choose to enter this line of work. After being persecuted by our own nation, we have sought refuge here. We now have to perform this type of work. We endured numerous forms of torture and kidnapping even within the camp. We endure great suffering in this profession. Customers occasionally force us, beat us, and mistreat us,” said Rita (pseudonym), a night shift employee at an unnamed hotel in the cottage zone.

What are the opinions of those involved?

A local organisation named “Nongor” works with sex workers in Cox’s Bazar. While they focus on HIV related cases, they are concerned about the involvement of Rohingya women in the sex trade.

Didarul Rashid, deputy director of this organisation said, “Apart from the local brokers, many of the Rohingya refugees who came to Bangladesh long ago are now forcing the Rohingya women into sex trade in various ways. They are doing this by taking advantage of the destitution.

“Those who are trafficked abroad in the name of employment are actually engaged in sex work. Many Rohingya women are rescued while being trafficked overseas. Many Rohingya women are forced into sex trade from outside the camps after arriving here. Not only here, they are being forced to work in sex trade in other parts of the country too.”

It is not known how many Rohingya women have been targeted in the sex trade but it is safe to say that these numbers are rising alarmingly. The reason behind that is the Rohingya camps are not secured. And the network of the agents involved in sex trade is also inside the camps.

Regarding Rohingya women engaged in the sex trade, the local administration does not possess any information.

No survey has been conducted on this population by the United Nations as of yet. However, a 2017 Reuters article claims that around 500 women and girls from these camps are forced into the sex trade.

The majority of the Rohingya refugees who arrived in 2017 were females. And right now, the majority of these 6 lakh new refugees are women and girls.

Moreover, 10,000 more women and girls are at risk of becoming prostitutes as we speak. That being said, it is obvious that the number is higher and growing every day.

Additional Police Super Md Mahfuzul Islam of Cox’s Bazar district police, said, "We received no reports of Rohingya women engaging in the sex trade. But there are claims that they experience sexual harassment while living in the camps."

He added that this sex trade is being closely monitored by the police.

Asif Munir, a refugee expert in Bangladesh, believes that women are adopting this career to escape the plight of the Rohingya crisis. However, the weakness of the law is being blamed for such actions taking place right beneath the administration's nose.

 If the law is not enforced, it will only remain in the external sense, so strict law enforcement as well as administrative supervision is necessary to suppress- rein in the crime, said Asif Munir.

As he does not see a prospect for Rohingya refugees to return to their home country in the near future, he has asked that Bangladesh's law and order treat Rohingya refugees equally.

This story was produced as a part of Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development’s Media and Visual Fellowship on Militarism, Peace and Women’s Human Rights.

The West Bank: Israel’s other genocidal war in Palestine

 

On Wednesday, Israel launched a major military assault on the occupied West Bank. The Israeli army deployed hundreds of soldiers, armoured vehicles, bulldozers, drones and fighter jets to try to destroy the armed resistance in the regions of Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas.

At least 18 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, and scores have been injured.

Keep reading

. Polio vaccination to begin on Sunday amid limited pause in fighting: WHO
. Houthis release footage of fighters boarding Greek oil tanker in Red Sea
. UN says Israel agrees to pauses in Gaza fighting for polio vaccinations
. Houthis release video of attack on Red Sea oil tanker

Foreign Minister Israel Katz has called on the Israeli army to force Palestinians to evacuate from the northern West Bank. The military has announced a “voluntary evacuation”.

This Israeli talk of forced expulsion masked under the humanitarian term “evacuation” is raising fears that the West Bank will follow the fate of Gaza in terms of massive destruction and displacement.

If this does take place, it would be a major escalation of the Israeli government’s strategy of gradual dispossession of Palestinians in the West Bank, which has been carried out directly through military means and settler attacks but also indirectly – through the purposeful degradation of all aspects of Palestinian life.

Over the past few years, the Israeli army has regularly carried out military raids in the West Bank, trying to destroy the rising armed resistance movement in the occupied territory, fuelled by popular anger against the Israeli occupation and especially the intensified Jewish settler activity and Israeli takeover of Palestinian properties in occupied East Jerusalem and elsewhere.

The Israeli army has used these raids not only to kill resistance fighters and civilians but also to bulldoze any infrastructure that the attacked Palestinian communities may have in an act of collective punishment. According to the United Nations, the Israeli military has killed more than 600 Palestinians in the West Bank since October 7.

Violence is not carried out solely by the Israeli army. The Israeli government has empowered and encouraged Jewish settlers to attack Palestinian communities as well. This was the case before October 7, but since then, settler attacks have skyrocketed.

In the first 10 months of the war, the UN recorded 1,250 attacks by Jewish settlers; in 120 of them, Palestinians were killed or injured, and in 1,000 of them, Palestinian property was damaged. Settlers have also attacked Palestinian communities, expelling their residents from their own land and homes. More than 1,200 Palestinians have been forced out of their homes by Jewish settlers. More than 3,000 have been displaced by the Israeli army demolishing Palestinian homes.

But it is not just brutal force that Israel is using against the Palestinians in the West Bank. The Israeli authorities have weaponised all levers of colonial control they have over the occupied territory to make life impossible for the Palestinian population. On a recent trip to the West Bank, I witnessed firsthand these brutal realities of Israel’s settler colonialism.

The Israeli government has long restricted mobility for Palestinians within the occupied West Bank, building “Jewish only” roads, segregation walls and checkpoints across the territory. Since October 7, it has accelerated building infrastructure on Palestinian land. This is evident on Road 60 in the stretch connecting Jerusalem to Jewish settlements in Hebron, where new road lanes are being constructed, even in areas where lanes were added just a year ago.

Since October 7, the movement of Palestinians between villages and towns has been further restricted. The number of Israeli checkpoints, roadblocks and gates has increased from about 200 in October to more than 790 by early June. Some roads connecting communities are only open for limited hours while flying checkpoints and roadblocks are set up at the whim of soldiers, often without any legitimate security justification.

So while Jewish settlements throughout the West Bank are well connected with roads and infrastructure, the areas where the Palestinian population lives are transformed into Bantustans disconnected from each other.

This affects all aspects of Palestinians’ lives. Something as simple as going to university could be impeded. While visiting my friend Walid in a village on the outskirts of Nablus, I spoke to his two daughters who are students at a university in the city.

“We usually have to stop at the main checkpoint in Huwara. This stop can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours,” one of them told me while the other added: “But our main concern isn’t the checkpoints; it’s the settlers who throw stones at cars.”

Apart from the disruptive impact restricted mobility has on everyday Palestinian life, it is also severely damaging the already fragile Palestinian economy. Trucks carrying food, raw materials and other goods must pass through Israeli checkpoints, where they often get stuck for hours, increasing both the cost and time required for transport. As a result, food prices have risen significantly since October 7.

Self-sufficiency in food has been a matter of pride for Palestinians, who have a strong agricultural tradition. But that is also systematically undermined by the Israeli colonial authorities. Apart from expanding illegal Jewish settlements and military zones that restrict access to private Palestinian lands, Israel is systematically trying to prevent Palestinians from using their lands for agriculture. The most effective way to do that has been encouraging Jewish settlers’ attacks.

In Beit Jala, I met with my old classmate George, who owns a piece of land near Israeli colonial settlements. He told me he could not cultivate it because he feared being attacked by Jewish settlers, which had happened to other farmers. He explained he lost the income that he would normally get from selling olive oil from olive trees and fresh produce he would grow on that land.

Israel is also in full control of key resources in the West Bank, like water. It diverts water from Palestinian towns and villages to illegal Jewish settlements. As a result, there is a perpetual water crisis across the occupied territory, which the colonial authorities have purposefully made worse since October 7 by restricting even more the supply of water.

During my trip, I visited Mariam in one of the villages on the outskirts of Bethlehem. She told me they receive water from the municipality only once a month and only for a few hours. The rest of the time they use water that accumulates in a small well on their property and, when that runs out, they buy from tanker trucks. She added that they are considered lucky compared with other neighbourhoods, where water is supplied only every two or three months.

While destroying the local economy and agriculture, Israel has also intensified its efforts to eliminate the two other major sources of income for Palestinians: employment by the Palestinian Authority (PA) and by Israeli companies.

The PA-run public sector employs 21 percent of the Palestinian workforce, accounting for about 130,000 employees. Over the past few years, the PA has struggled to pay salaries in full due to Israel constantly withholding tax revenue it is supposed to transfer to the PA’s accounts. The situation has only gotten worse since October 7.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Finance, since October 7, Israel has kept about $500m of Palestinian tax revenue. Since 2019, it has withheld another $600m. Public employees have been receiving 40 to 60 percent of their salaries.

After October 7, the Israeli government also banned Palestinians from working for Israeli employers. As a result, more than 200,000 workers have lost their jobs. A few thousand still manage to smuggle themselves into Israeli sites for work. Tawhid, one such worker, told me he has an agreement with a local contractor who arranges transportation and work. He just has to go over the segregation wall. When I asked what would happen if he were caught, he replied: “They might beat me or imprison me, as has happened to many workers, but I have no other option to survive.”

The economic war Israel is waging has resulted in the poverty rate rising from 38.8 percent before October 7 to 60.7 percent, according to estimates from the UN Development Programme. This sharp increase means many families can no longer afford to pay for food and other necessities and are now dependent on assistance from aid agencies.

Israel’s war on the Palestinians in the West Bank does not stop at destroying their property and livelihoods. It also targets their mental wellbeing through constant surveillance, harassment and physical violence.

The Israeli colonial authorities watch over every aspect of the personal lives of Palestinians through vast networks of surveillance cameras, tapping of telecommunications, and control over the internet and various other technologies, including facial recognition.

Since October 7, this surveillance has only intensified, and Israeli security forces have made it a point to let people know they are being watched.

I met Ahmad who was imprisoned in an Israeli jail for more than five years. He shared with me that he was called recently by an Israeli intelligence officer who told him that if he wanted to stay out of prison, he should refrain from commenting on the situation in Palestine. When Ahmad responded that he wasn’t doing anything that would threaten Israel’s security, the officer replied: “We know, but I’m making you’re aware. We can see what you’re doing and saying at home, in the market and even in your car.”

Apart from the constant torment of pervasive surveillance, Palestinians also face nonstop physical harassment and violence. In areas that are close to illegal Jewish settlements, it is the settlers who are tasked with terrorising the Palestinian population. Elsewhere, it is the Israeli police and security forces.

While travelling on public transportation, I met a man and his teenage son. The boy’s arms were both in casts. The father explained that his son was walking home with friends when they were stopped at an Israeli military checkpoint. The soldiers searched them and their phones. When they discovered a video about the October 7 attacks on his son’s phone, they took the boy aside and beat him for two hours.

The boy’s friends had to carry him away because he was unable to walk. At the hospital, doctors found that both his arms were broken, his body was covered in bruises and he was severely traumatised. When I asked the father if he had filed a complaint, he replied: “How can we file a complaint against occupation soldiers who hold all the power? Doing so would only make us targets, and they might arrest my child.”

Indeed, the shocking number of violent attacks on Palestinians that the UN and human rights organisations have reported are an underestimate because the vast majority of them are not reported.

The goal of the constant harassment, surveillance, deprivation of livelihoods, degradation of living standards, physical violence and killings is to make Palestinians in the West Bank leave – just like the ultimate Israeli goal in Gaza is to expel the Palestinian population there. The pursuit of total elimination of the Palestinian population from historical Palestine will not cease even if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government were to collapse.

The lack of international action to stop the genocide in Gaza and the West Bank has shocked Palestinians but has not made them capitulate. If anything, the violent Israeli assault on the northern West Bank is a sign that the Palestinians have chosen resistance even in the face of overwhelming genocidal force.