Collective Punishment.. A Continuing Israeli Policy in the Occupied West Bank

From the first moment of announcing the identity of the perpetrator of the Al-Afula operation, the Israeli occupation army rushed to implement the policy of collective punishment on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

The occupation army imposed a curfew in the town of Qabatiya south of Jenin, and turned the perpetrator's house into a field investigation center, after taking its measurements in preparation for its demolition. The soldiers also closed roads in the town, raided a number of homes, and conducted field investigations with their residents, in implementation of the instructions of Israeli Security Minister Yisrael Katz following the operation.

And in other villages of the West Bank, the situation was not much different, as incursions, arrests, and seizures of homes continue. Nevertheless, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admits his government's failure to thwart operations, despite the many operations carried out by his soldiers in the past year.

And amid the Israeli government's insistence on adopting the security approach in dealing with the West Bank file, the military institution warned of a major security explosion as a result of the policy of economic strangulation of the West Bank, calling on the political authorities to allow the legal and organized return of Palestinian workers to the interior, after the crossings were closed to them since October 7, 2023.

And in contrast to strangling the West Bank and its people economically, Israeli settlements are witnessing expansion, as the small security cabinet approved the establishment of 19 new settlements in the West Bank, raising the number of settlements approved by Israeli authorities in the past three years to 69 settlements.

This number raised concern among 13 European countries in addition to Japan, prompting them to warn that settlement expansion harms the chances of achieving peace and security in the long term in the region.

In this context, Jamal Zahalka, a lecturer at the Arab American University in Jenin, says that the Al-Afula operation was "a very big blow to the Israeli security institution and the political leadership and the new concept of Israeli security after October 7, because Israel shifted after this date from deterrence to prevention".

And Zahalka adds that "Israel used to carry out deterrence operations, but after October 7, 2023, it carries out unprecedented incursions in the West Bank to prevent the formation of any organization or armed groups that carry out operations either against settlements or inside Israel".

And he confirms that the operation represents "a blatant failure", pointing to the size of the forces that Israel deployed to the north of the West Bank, the repetition of incursions into Qabatiya, and what it did in the Jenin and Tulkarm camps.

And he adds: "Despite all that, this operation happened, and it is a very big blow, and a number of Israeli officers and generals severely criticized the security forces, pointing to the weakness of organization within the Israeli army, police, and Shin Bet, so that a driver can carry out several consecutive operations that last a long time before the Israeli security forces arrive".

And he explains that Netanyahu's statements about "crushing resistance in the West Bank" do not reflect reality, adding that "the Israeli conclusion from this operation is not rethinking, but using more force".

And he points out that the north of the West Bank is witnessing a major settlement project, aimed at building new settlements, and the Israeli forces carry out operations to protect settlers, and what is happening in Qabatiya is not just a response to the operation, but a continuation of military operations to destroy any possibility of resistance in the West Bank, in addition to the vengeful motive.

In turn, the academic and political researcher Jihad Harb sees that Israel is imposing collective punishments on Palestinians, taking multiple forms, including what is happening today in Qabatiya, such as curfew and mistreatment of Palestinian citizens and depriving them of movement, and including what relates to the economic aspect.

And Harb adds that "the economic aspect takes multiple dimensions, including clearance, meaning the Palestinian funds collected by Israel on behalf of the Palestinian Authority and withheld or deducted parts of them through arbitrary procedures, which first deprives Palestinians of the Authority's ability to provide basic services such as education, health, and social affairs".