Settler violence escalate in West Bank simultaneously with war on Gaza

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Sky News
22 Oct 2023 02:38
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According to a report by UNOCHA, on average seven Palestinians have been killed every day in the West Bank over the past two weeks.

Mourners take the last look at the Bodies of Ibrahim Awad, left, and Mohammad Fawaqa, during their funeral in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023 (AP)

As the aggression against Gaza persists, Western media flail to frame the genocide carried out by the Israeli forces as a "necessary evil".

The genocide apologetics in the media argue that had there not been Hamas, "Israel" would not be waging an aggression against Gaza. However, UN reports of settler violence prove this to be false.

Reports by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) show that Palestinian casualties of settler violence in the occupied West Bank have been sharply increasing over the past three years. In 2020, 24 Palestinians were killed by settlers or the IOF. It increased by four-fold in 2021 reaching 84. In 2022, the number of Palestinians killed was 154, increasing to 277 in 2023 as of October 20.

Up until September 19, prior to Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, 189 Palestinians were reported to be killed. This number saw a sharp spike since October 7, with 88 Palestinians killed over the span of two weeks. That is roughly seven Palestinians killed each day in the West Bank aside from large-scale massacres being committed against their brethren in Gaza. The UN has also recorded 102 attacks of settler violence targeting Palestinians and their property in the West Bank in the past two weeks.

The correspondent for the Israeli Channel 13 has reported that political approval is still awaited for the IOF to launch its ground operation against Palestinians in #Gaza. This reflects Israeli hesitation over the "much-deliberated" invasion.#PalestineGenocide… pic.twitter.com/T1IufWipTG
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 21, 2023

One example narrated by a Sky News report brings to light the fascistic brutality with which Zionist settlers treat Palestinians in the West Bank.

On 11 October in the town of Qusra, near Nablus, settlers began attacking the house of Maad Awda, 29, whose father Mahmoud had been killed during a similar attack in 2017. When Awda tried to evacuate with his six-year-old daughter the settlers opened fire, an eyewitness told Sky News. He got hit in his head, and his young daughter, no more than six years old, got hit as well. Footage of the attack, verified by Sky News, shows five masked gunmen opening fire near the village, with another person driving an off-road vehicle. Maad was killed along with three others. The next day, during the funeral processions, settlers attacked the mourners killing two others, according to footage verified by Sky News.

According to the Palestinian health ministry, 4,385 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the Israeli aggression on Gaza: amounting to 313 Palestinians each day since October 7th.

"70% of the total victims of the Israeli aggression are children, women and the elderly," the report reads.

In the past 24 hours only, the Israeli occupation "committed 29 massacres, claiming the lives of 248 Palestinians and injuring 400," according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

The Ministry’s statement touched on the repercussions of the aggression on the health sector in the Gaza Strip, confirming the martyrdom of 51 health personnel and the injury of 87 others with various injuries. It also announced that seven hospitals and 25 health centers have become out of service due to deliberate targeting and fuel shortages.

The statement also confirmed that hospitals in the Gaza Strip ran out of resources, considering the lack of the most basic emergency medical supplies, including fuel.

The statement added that hospitals in the Gaza Strip exceeded their capacity by 150%, forcing them to set up multiple tents to accommodate a large number of injuries.