Since the beginning of the year, at least 74 Palestinians and 13 Israelis have died in civilian and military attacks. Despite recent negotiations, Tel Aviv and Ramallah do not seem to want to calm the situation.
Are we heading for a new intifada? Since the beginning of the year, deadly clashes have followed one another in the West Bank, territory occupied by Israel since 1967. At least 74 Palestinians and 13 Israelis have been killed in attacks carried out by civilians or soldiers. Latest episode: the death of three Palestinians, Thursday, March 9, shot dead by Israeli forces in Jaba, a small town south of Jenin.
This new wave of violence began on February 26 when two young settlers were shot dead in the town of Huwara in the northern West Bank. In retaliation, a hundred settlers led a punitive expedition to the locality, killing a Palestinian and injuring hundreds. Faced with this situation, the United Nations urged Israel and Palestine to put an end to this violence “immediately”. Despite recent negotiations, however, neither side seems ready to calm the situation.
Jewish supremacists in government
Since Binyamin Netanyahu returned to power in December, violence has escalated in the occupied territories. For the first time, the Israeli executive is led by a coalition bringing together the right and the extreme right. Among them are Jewish supremacists, such as Homeland Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. “These religious nationalists are not democrats, they dream of a theocracy, of a state governed by religious law where the Palestinians would have no rights”describes Amélie Ferey, researcher at the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri), interviewed by franceinfo.
A central figure in this new government, Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionist Party, was appointed responsible for the civil administration of the West Bank settlements occupied by Binyamin Netanyahu at the end of February. This responsibility has hitherto been exercised by the army. Gold, Bezalel Smotrich is a strong supporter of the annexation of the West Bank. “He campaigns for the establishment of ‘Greater Israel'”, remarks Amélie Ferey. This ideology is inspired by the Bible and aims to bring together the current state of Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip under common borders.
Incendiary provocations
Bezalel Smotrich, father of 7 children, defines itself as a “homophobic fascist”relieves The World (paid article). Before entering government, he became known for his racist statements: he argued that hospitals should separate Jewish and Arab patients and told Arab Knesset members that they sat “by mistake”.
“Bezalel Smotrich proposed that Palestinians who want to stay in Israel should no longer have the right to vote or leave in exchange for compensation.”
Amélie Ferey, researcher at Ifriat franceinfo
On March 1, following the Huwara rampage, the minister again caused an uproar by stating that the Israeli army should “annihilate” the Palestinian city, before retracting and specifying that he “did not want to annihilate Huwara, but only to act in a targeted manner against the terrorists”.
His ally, Itamar Ben Gvir, is also used to provocations. Leader of the Jewish Power party, he is opposed to a Palestinian state and has been convicted numerous times for incitement to hatred. A few days only after his appointment as Minister of National Security, he went to the esplanade of the Mosques, in East Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam. A legal move, but qualified as “unprecedented provocation” by the Palestinian Foreign Ministry.
These one-upmanship “undoubtedly created a favorable climate for the violence of young settlers [en Cisjordanie occupée]“suggests David Khalfa, co-director of the North Africa and Middle East Observatory at the Jean Jaurès Foundation, in Le Figaro. “These settlers – who are increasingly violent – act with the blank check of the government. They think they benefit from impunity”adds Amélie Ferey.
Increasing colonization
In addition to this political shift, the illegal colonization of the West Bank continues to intensify. In 2020, approximately 630,000 Israeli settlers resided in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), compared to 2.9 million Palestinians, according to the UN. Between 2021 and 2022, the number of new Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem more than doubled, from 6,288 homes to 14,894, according to European Union figures (PDF).
The new Israeli government intends to go further. When he was inaugurated in December, the opening lines of his program stated that “The Jewish people have an exclusive and inalienable right to all parts of the Land of Israel”according to Release. At the beginning of February, the Israel’s security cabinet announced that it would legalize nine new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and build new ones. These settlements were until then illegal, because established without the approval of the government (note that for the UN any Jewish settlement in the West Bank is illegal under international law).
However, the colonies represent the “link of physical friction between the Palestinian population and the settlers, the place where the violence crystallizes. Their defense serves as a pretext for the multiple interventions of the Israeli armyexplains Didier Billion, deputy director of theInstitute of International and Strategic Relationson the Iris website. As long as this colonization continues, the violence will continue.” Especially since theColonization causes major difficulties in accessing agricultural resources for the Palestinians. Israel indeed controls 85% of Palestinian water resources and 600,000 Palestinians are in a situation of food insecurity in the West Bank, according to the UN.
“The earth is overpopulated, the resources limited. The situation is very dangerous and it is feared that it will not work out with this government.”
Amélie Ferey, researcher at Ifriat franceinfo
A powerless Palestinian Authority
In the opposite camp, the Palestinian Authority remains sluggish and limits itself to condemnations. Mahmoud Abbas, 87, has been president since 2005 of an entity accused of corruption and nepotism “which no longer has sovereignty in fact”, recalls Amélie Ferey. In recent weeks, the Israeli army has carried out deadly operations in Nablus and Jenin, cities that are supposed to be under the military control of the Palestinian Authority. “Disavowed, Mahmoud Abbas is accused of controlling its population rather than protecting it”recalls Amélie Ferey.
This inertia has allowed the emergence of a new generation of Palestinian fighters determined to fight without the approval of any political group. They claim neither Fatah, Hamas or Islamic Jihad, nor even their military branches, Mediapart analyzes (paid item). “The generation between 20 and 30 is looking for itself, it is lost, no faction can contain it”Fatah MP Jamal Tirawi explained in 2022 in The world.
“After the second intifada [2000-2005], there was a pacification and we moved away from the armed struggle. For a year, a year and a half, the new generation has been reconnecting with this culture.”
Fatah MP Jamal Tirawiin the world”
However, following a rare meeting in Aqaba (Jordan) on February 26, Israeli and Palestinian leaders pledged to work towards a “de-escalation”. But no decision seems to be going in this direction for the moment.