Alwaght- Having suffered a humiliating defeat in the war against the resistance groups in Gaza, Israel these days is stepping up pressures on the Palestinians of the West Bank.
After destroying Gaza and killing tens of thousands of civilians, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now implementing a dangerous project in the West Bank with the direction of hardline ministers.
Though the Israeli army had said that the target of its operations in various parts of the West Bank in recent weeks were resistance groups, as the time passes by, secret aspects of these operations resurface, showing that there is a broader agenda behind them.
Since Sunday, the Israeli army started a military offensive in Nur Shams camp in Tulkarem in northern West Bank, displacing tens of families.
"During our exit from the camp, we heard explosions, gunfire, and bulldozers destroying routes," Al-Bayan reported citing Ahmad Aza, a resident of the camp.
"The army came and took us out against our will, after they demolished the house," said Ahmed Abu Zahra, walking with a woman in a rain-soaked street.
An AFP photographer reported seeing dozens of families leaving the camp amid gunfire and explosions, as bulldozers carried out extensive demolition of the camp's infrastructure. More than half of the camp's 13,000 residents had left out of fear for their lives, said Murad Alian, a member of the camp's popular committee.
"What we are witnessing today is similar to what the occupying forces did in Gaza in recent months," said Ahmed al-Assad, the governor of Tubas. "The Israeli forces did not target militants, but opened fire on civilians, women and children, and blew up houses to press residents to evacuate."
The Israeli rights organization, B'Tselem, in an X post said that Israel continues its all-out war on the Palestinian people. Since Gaza ceasefire began, the West Bank has been burning in fire."
Tulkarm governor Abdullah Kamil noted that Tel Aviv’s military operation in the northern West Bank is more intense than ever before, because the aim is political, not security. He added: “Everything is being destroyed. The aim is also to execute demographic change.”
The Palestinian foreign ministry accused the Israeli regime in a statement of carrying out destruction in the West Bank similar to what it did in Gaza.
Abdul Karim Delbah, who works for a charity society in the city of Tulkarm, said that the Israeli army raided the headquarters of the society, which provides supplies for the disabled and toys for children, and stayed there for seven days, destroying everything.
"There is a systematic destruction of infrastructure that I am witnessing for the first time in my life. I did not see this situation even when the occupiers attacked Tulkarm in 2000," he said.
On the other hand, in Al-Quds (Jerusalem) region, Israeli forces reported the destruction of homes and facilities in the city of Silwan, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the village of Isawiya, northeast of Al-Quds.
Upon effect of the ceasefire in Gaza, the Israeli army began its new operation in the West Bank, supposedly to neutralize resistance groups that were a threat to settlers. However, reports of Israeli crimes published in the last three weeks show that mainly the civilians have been targeted by their occupying enemy.
Launching West Bank annexation project
Since annexation of the West Bank and expansion of the settlement projects have been priorities of the government of Netanyahu and he managed to attract the radical ministers to the coalition cabinet with these promises, he intends to execute this dangerous project now that tensions are heated between the Israelis and Palestinians.
To this end, the Knesset Ministerial Committee on Tuesday approved a proposal by member Simcha Rotman to permanently remove the name West Bank and replace it with "Judea and Samaria" and sent it to the Knesset for final approval.
According to this proposal, from the time of the approval of this law, the term West Bank will no longer be used in official correspondence, will be replaced by Judea and Samaria. According to the proponent of this proposal, with this action, Israel will "correct a historical distortion" and strengthen the bonds between Jews and this region.
Meanwhile, a disagreement arose between the Israeli ministers of communications and justice in this regard as the minister of communications argued that these changes should be made after full sovereignty is exercised over this region, but the minister of justice, who was in favor of this proposal, asserted that the exercise of sovereignty begins with this renaming.
The policy of removing the name of the West Bank is like policy of some governments that to upscale the value of their national currency first blur a certain number of zeros from the banknotes and after normalization of this situation among people, they remove the zeros totally.
Seizing opportunity of Trump being president
Considering the lsw on the table of the Netanyahu government regarding the West Bank, it can be said that Tel Aviv is openly or/and secretly trying to annex the West Bank, and the removal of the name of this region from administrative and political correspondence can also be seen in this regard.
In 2020, Netanyahu announced his intention to officially annex parts of the West Bank to other occupied territories. Although this plan was postponed due to international pressure and an agreement to normalize relations with some Arab countries, it is now once again on the regime's agenda.
By removing the name of the West Bank, which is a prelude to occupation, the Israeli government wants to change the demographic composition of this region by furthering Israeli settlements. Hundreds of thousands of settlers now live in the West Bank, receiving special infrastructure and privileges with government support, a trend that shows that Tel Aviv is seeking permanent control of the land.
Removing West Bank name and using such Jewish names as Judea and Samaria is part of the project of reshaping historical identity of this region, and by doing so, Israel wants to introduce this region as Israeli and blur its Palestinian legitimacy in the international organizations.
Additionally, the large-scale offensive at towns and refugee camps like in Nablus and Jenin are aimed at undermining the resistance groups and preventing any popular revolt and this policy is part of Netanyahu's efforts to maintain security dominance over the West Bank.
Also, by increasing pressure on the West Bank, the Netanyahu government is trying to completely remove the West Bank issue from the international negotiation and debate in any future political process, especially since the arrival of Trump has paved the way for eliminating the two-state plan from the US regional strategy agenda; the same scenario that is currently being implemented in Gaza to cut off Hamas's hand from this coastal enclave.
Expansion of occupation is being advanced simultaneously in Gaza and the West Bank and the hardline ministers think that now the ground is made to do away with the Palestinians and resistance groups for good. From the viewpoint of Israelis, as long as Palestinians are present in Gaza and the West Bank and resistance groups grow stronger day by day, providing security for the occupying settlers is a pipe dream.
Although the Israeli regime has not yet announced the official and complete annexation of the West Bank, all its actions are aimed at gradual occupation and eliminating the possibility of forming an independent Palestinian state, and this process could lead to an official and permanent annexation in the future if Tel Aviv is not checked by a concerted international response.
Still, as resistance stood against Israeli occupation in Gaza, fledgling resistance factions in the West Bank with the help of their battle-tested brothers in Gaza will check the occupation and war machine.
