'The humiliation is unbearable': Palestinians trapped in their homes during Israeli West Bank raids

PALESTINIANS LIVING IN the northern West Bank have described the fear and loss experienced since Israeli forces began a series of assaults that has left dozens of people dead and neighbourhoods in ruins.

The Journal has spoken to people from communities suffering through repeated assaults on towns, cities and built-up refugee camps in the occupied West Bank. They spoke about being trapped in their homes during gun battles between militant groups and Israeli soldiers, the death and destruction left behind and the lingering fear that another attack could come at any time. 

“If I were to describe our current life, the most fitting word would be ‘scattered’,” Sara, a university student, said.

“While others might live their lives planning for the future, focusing on tomorrow, we are confined to the present, consumed by the current situation. Our days fall into one of two categories: anticipating the next raid or enduring the suffering of an ongoing one.”

The raids, which Israel calls counterterrorism operations, have seen bulldozers rolling down and ripping up streets, destroying homes and businesses, and crippling essential infrastructure. Hospitals have been besieged and ambulances targeted, denying people access to critical healthcare. Locals say these tactics mirror those employed by Israel in Gaza. 

Last week’s sustained assault was the largest Israeli military incursion into the West Bank since 2002, when the Palestinians last mounted a mass effort to overthrow their occupiers, in an uprising known as the Second Intifada.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz published an editorial last Friday that began: “Israel has decided to turn the West Bank into the Gaza Strip.”

The raids have continued this week in Tubas and Tulkarem, where one woman told The Journal about being trapped in her home while the sound of gunfire terrified her young children. 

The West Bank, named for its location by the River Jordan, is the largest section of the now broken up Palestine and home to more than three million people. It is territorially isolated from the much smaller Gaza strip.

Many of the refugee camps in the West Bank resemble small cities. Most were established after Palestinians were expelled from their homes during the Nakba (catastrophe) that led to the formation of Israel. 

The deadly raids have come amidst a surge in violence in the territory since the 7 October attack against Israel and the resulting war in Gaza.

Almost 700 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since then, and thousands displaced. 23 Israelis, including occupation forces, have been killed during the same period.

‘Muhammad died and the dream died’ 

The Journal spoke to Palestinians living in the built-up refugee camps of Tulkarem and Nour Shams, both of which were targeted in recent assaults. 

Azza, an English teacher in Tulkarem, said that one of her students, Muhammad Abdullah Kanaan, was killed by an Israeli sniper shot to the head. He was 14. 

She provided a photo of Muhammad’s body surrounded by his young classmates. 

Azza said Muhammad had always told her he wanted to travel abroad and become an English professor. 

“Muhammed died and the dream died.”

On Tuesday, Azza said the raids were continuing. 

“Now we are surrounded. We have the occupation forces storming the camp. There are martyrs, wounded children, and they are frightened,” she said in a Whatsapp message, sharing a photo of some of her young students crowded into a room. 

“My young children do not sleep because of the incursion and the sounds of bullets from the Israeli army.” 

This was the 30th raid since last October, she said. 

During last week’s attacks, “they destroyed homes, burned them, cut electricity wires, and destroyed the entire infrastructure”.

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“We have been suffering from a power outage for six days.” 

“The Israeli army stormed my house with dogs and my children were very afraid. My little daughter wakes up every day from sleep while she is screaming.”

Azza said she tried to explain to the soldiers that there were young children in the house, but they ignored her. 

“The soldier shouted ‘Be quiet’. He destroyed the house and abused the young men.” 

‘Scattered’  

Sara, a university student from Nour Shams, told The Journal that people there now live in perpetual fear of more attacks. She described the latest assault as “brutal and devastating”.

She said that students have been particularly badly affected by the destruction, the danger and new restrictions on movement.

Many families are in mourning.

“There are families of martyrs, families of the injured, those who have lost their jobs, and those who have lost their homes. Hundreds of houses have been destroyed – some partially, others completely – over the past ten months. The camp has become unrecognisable; it changes weekly, slowly being dismantled.”

She said the recent raids were an escalation after the already devastating attack the community suffered in November. “That attack left a deep scar.”

“They cut off water, electricity, and the internet, something they do whenever they invade,” she said of the November assault. 

“During that first assault, we were caught off guard. We had never faced anything like it before. You could hear explosions, gunfire, and screams for help, but stepping out or even looking through the window could mean death.” 

“Now, everyone is finding ways to cope,” she said.

People are stockpiling food and water, buying batteries for when the power is cut, “and preparing for the possibility of being confined to their homes for several days”. 

Sara said at least ten families have left her neighbourhood since November.

“The repeated need to pack up everything and leave for just a few days has exhausted people.”

‘The humiliation is unbearable’ 

After each attack, Sara said people go about rebuilding, if only temporarily. 

“It feels futile, but we must do something to help people continue living. It’s hard to believe that the camp was once a place where the roads were functional, where people could walk outside at night, and where we could go to school or work without fear.”

During the attacks, she said that Israeli soldiers break into homes and round up everyone in a house into a single room while turning the place over.

“The humiliation is unbearable. Even though we are in our own homes, any wrong move could result in being shot.”

Sara said young men and teenage boys are commonly beaten during these home invasions.  

“Any male over the age of sixteen becomes a target. As a result, many young men no longer sleep in the camp during offensives, leaving only women and children at home.” 

Sara fears for her 15-year-old brother, who is autistic and non-verbal. 

She said he is “tall, and seems normal to most people, which often leads to misunderstandings about his condition”.

“We have to reassure him amidst loud noises and chaos, and when soldiers break into our home, there’s an added fear that they won’t believe us and might accuse him or us of deceit.”

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