Israel‘s ‘increased offensive activity’ in the Occupied West Bank

Systematic discrimination, segregation, oppression, domination, displacement, mass arrests , the transformation of detention facilities into a network of torture camps,  and extreme arbitrary violence against the innocent Palestinian civilians, the Israeli regime has adopted recently, ramping up its oppression of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank .

The "increased offensive activity" in the West Bank was added by the Israeli government to its official list of "war objectives" on 19 January 2025, as a formal affirmation of another front in the all-out war declared on the Palestinians since 7 October 2023. 

“While we are waging a powerful war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, we are aware of the possibility that a larger and more powerful front could open up here in Judea and Samaria,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told troops on March 19 according to a statement from his office, referring to the Israeli-occupied West Bank territories.

Earlier, far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called in January for areas in the West Bank such as Jenin and Nablus to be made to "look like Jabalia," a city in northern Gaza largely reduced to rubble during the Israeli war on Gaza.

Many see that Israeli forces are using the dangerous strategy and similar tactics deployed in Gaza, where more than 49,547 Palestinians have been killed and 112, 719 wounded till date according to Gaza ‘s Health, Ministry while more than 70 per cent of the infrastructure has been destroyed, according to the United Nations.

As tension has been similarly running high across the occupied West Bank, at least 935 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 7,000 injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers since the start of the Gaza conflict in October 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Israel last year ratcheted up settlement of the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, transferring its own population into the territory and unlawfully demolishing Palestinian homes, while settler violence increased in a climate of continuing impunity.

“Israel’s settlement policy, its acts of annexation, and related discriminatory legislation and measures are in breach of international law, as the International Court of Justice has confirmed, and violate Palestinians’ right to self-determination,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said.

“Israel must immediately and completely cease all settlement activities and evacuate all settlers, stop the forcible transfer of the Palestinian population, and prevent and punish attacks by its security forces and settlers.”

The ongoing transfer of government powers from the Israeli military to the Israeli government over the Occupied Palestinian Territory is facilitating the advancement of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the steady integration of the Occupied West Bank into the State of Israel.

Moreover, Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem has been expanding significantly and steps have been taken towards implementing plans to construct over 20,000 housing units in new or existing Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem alone, according to Israeli non-governmental organizations.  

Over 10,300 units within existing Israeli settlements in the rest of the West Bank are in the pipeline and an unprecedented 49 new Israeli outposts have been established.

Besides, dozens of unauthorized roads have been paved by settlers and the army around settlements and outposts, helping to connect them while blocking Palestinians’ movement and enabling further seizure of their land, according to United Nation Human Rights Office (OHCHR).

Israel has taken steps to further militarize the settler movement which included the enlistment of thousands of settlers into Israeli security forces operating in the West Bank. 

A monthly average of 118 incidents of settler violence, up from 108 in 2023 – which was already a record-breaking year was documented by (OHCHR).

On the other hand, a total of 1,779 Palestinian structures were demolished in the West Bank for “lack of building permits”, which are almost impossible to obtain for Palestinians, resulting in the forcible displacement of 4,527 people. 

“The transfer by Israel of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies amounts to a war crime,” the High Commissioner said, urging the international community to take meaningful action on Israel’s advancing settlement of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

“Israel must abide by the International Court of Justice’s ruling and cease immediately all new settlement activities, evacuate all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory and make reparations for the damage caused by decades of illegal settlement,” Türk said.

Israel’s large-scale displacement and demolition campaign is seen by analysts as part of its wider plans to liquidate the Palestinian right of return.

Amid the outrageous threats from Donald Trump about the future of Gaza, the back and forth regarding the ceasefire and captives-for-prisoners swap deal, the reimposition of the blockade on the enclave and the renewal of war , Israel has quietly continued its systematic ethnic cleansing in the occupied West Bank.

According to a report published by the United Nations on February 10, 2025, at least 40,000 Palestinians have been displaced from their residential areas in Palestinian refugee camps located in the northern occupied West Bank, since Israel launched its “Iron Wall” operation on January 21. This number has likely risen since then.

The operation started in the Jenin refugee camp- still ongoing, then expanded to Tulkarm, Nur Shams, and Al-Far’a camps, resulting in the killing of dozens of Palestinians and the demolition of dozens of houses.

Wide roadways have reportedly been cleared within the camps, which was considered as a deliberate attempt by Israel to transform the structure of refugee camps in the northern West Bank and push out more people.

While the displacement, demolition of houses and infrastructure have been concentrated in the northern areas of the West Bank, the remaining areas of the occupied territory including East Jerusalem have not been immune to the surge in daily violence practiced by the Israeli occupying forces (IOF) and Israeli settlers.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese condemned Israel’s displacement campaign in the occupied West Bank, calling it an “ethnic cleansing”.

Albanese also criticized media bias and international inaction to stop the crime and called for investigations to be conducted, because the campaign “has helped to create an environment conducive to genocide being carried out.”

The UN official further clarified that the recent campaign in the West Bank is a continuation of what has been happening against Palestinians since the Nakba.

“Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been displaced. More than 350,000 were displaced in 1967, and Israel destroyed everything they left behind, preventing their return.”

Albanese urged the Arab countries to unify their voice in defense of the Palestinians, rather than just talking about rebuilding Gaza, even as “genocide is continuing”.

Najla M. Shahwan is a Palestinian author, researcher and freelance journalist. Author of thirteen books in literature and a children story collection. Chairwoman of the Palestinian Center for Children’s Literature (PCCL), Founder of Jana Woman Cultural Magazine. Recipient of two prizes from the Palestinian Union of Writers.