Escalation of Violence in the West Bank

Last year was the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank since the second Intifada. A total of 154 were killed by Israeli security forces. During the same period, 31 Israelis were also killed in terrorist attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Since the beginning of the year, violence has continued to escalate: Settlers are using even worse violence against Palestinian civilians and feel encouraged by the new government in Jerusalem, Palestinian attacks on Israelis are on the rise and Israeli military operations in urban centres of the West Bank are increasing.

The reality of occupation has defined the lives of people in the West Bank for 55 years. With Netanyahu's new far right-wing religious government, the occupation threatens to be further consolidated: Settlements are to be massively expanded, land confiscations continued and the practice of house demolitions intensified. From now on, the extreme right-wing minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is an avowed opponent of the two-state solution and has repeatedly agitated against Palestinians, will be responsible for the civil administration of the West Bank.

The Palestinian Authority has lost all legitimacy in the eyes of most Palestinians. There have been no elections in Palestine since 2006. President Mahmoud Abbas' government acts increasingly autocratic and seems hardly able to give impulses for political conflict resolution.

The current escalation of violence and the increasing political polarisation are especially hard on the actors of progressive civil society. Activists and organisations documenting human rights violations in the West Bank, campaigning for environmental justice and running social projects for women and youth are criminalised by the Israeli military administration, hassled by the Palestinian Authority and are increasingly isolated internationally.

With this event, we want to give progressive activists from Palestine and Israel a platform to report first-hand about the current developments in the West Bank. What is happening in the West Bank right now and how can the current escalation be explained? What role do Palestinian and Israeli human rights organisations play on the ground? How does the occupation affect the everyday lives of people in the West Bank? To what extent will the reality of the occupation change as a result of the new Israeli government's plans? What does the escalation of violence mean for Israel's security? How can the international community have influence on developments on the ground?

With:

• Dalia Qumsieh, Human rights lawyer and founder of the Balasan Initiative for Human Rights.
• Hagai El-Ad, Executive Director of B'Tselem

Moderation:
Hanno Hauenstein, Journalist, Berliner Zeitung

Information:  
Bauke Baumann, Referent Israel, Palästina, Jordanien und Iran, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung,
E-Mail, baumann@boell.de
Telefon +49(0)285 34 -321

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