On 4 November, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) reported escalating violence in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem with repeated military raids on Palestinian cities, routine use of excessive force, attacks by Jewish settlers and violations against healthcare workers and facilities.
In mid-October, with the rising tide of Israeli violence and Palestinian resistance, Electronic Intifada wondered: ‘Is Palestine on the brink of a full-scale revolt?’
According to Defence for Children International – Palestine, 49 Palestinian children have been shot and killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as of 16 November.
The office of the UN high commissioner for human rights (OHCHR) reported on 28 October: ‘At least 118 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli security forces in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, this year, including 26 children and five women. Three Palestinians, including one child, were killed by settlers or settlement guards, while another child was killed by either a settler or by Israeli security forces.’
According to the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, Israeli forces killed 32 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip between 1 January and 30 September this year, making a total of at least 150 Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces by 1 November.
In contrast, according to OHCHR, just four Israeli security force personnel and one Israeli settlement guard were killed in the same period in the West Bank. No Israelis were killed in the Gaza Strip, according to B’Tselem, but nine Israeli civilians and one Israeli soldier were killed by Palestinians inside Israel itself in the period up to 30 September.
That’s a ratio of 10:1 – 150 Palestinians:15 Israelis killed – in the first 10 months of 2022.
In the Palestinian town of Huwarra, armed Israeli settlers went on a rampage several days in a row, attacking people and setting fire to vehicles and businesses. Meanwhile, the refugee camp of Shuafat in Jerusalem has been under an Israeli military-imposed lockdown, while a far-right Israeli politician walked freely in the next neighbourhood over, pulling a gun on Palestinian residents.
Medical Aid for Palestine: www.map.org.uk