Escalating Struggles: West Bank Palestinians Grapple with Rising Restrictions and Settler Violence Amid Gaza War
In the occupied West Bank, life has taken a distressing turn for Joseph Handal, a Palestinian resident facing the brunt of increasing restrictions and heightened violence as the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza escalates. His routine journey to work, once a straightforward commute, has transformed into a complex ordeal.
Handal's day begins at an unearthly hour, waking up at 4:30 a.m. to make it to his workplace, a Franciscan church in the Old City of Jerusalem. The journey, covering just a few miles from his home in Bethlehem, should ideally take 25 minutes by road. However, in the tumultuous West Bank, simplicity is a rare commodity.
"We wait for the bus and see if it comes. If it doesn’t come, the checkpoint is closed. Right now, it’s closed. But it may open later. Or maybe it won’t," Handal laments, standing on the roadside with fellow workers.
As a Palestinian in the West Bank, Handal requires a permit to enter Jerusalem, a necessity intensified by the current state of war. Negotiating at least two Israeli checkpoints has become a nightmarish ordeal, adding layers of uncertainty and stress to his daily life.
CNN's attempts to gain insights from Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) regarding the escalated restrictions have gone unanswered. The West Bank, controlled by Israel through roadblocks and checkpoints manned by armed forces, has witnessed an upsurge in the frequency and duration of closures since October 7, according to residents and human rights observers.
The situation on the ground is exemplified by the presence of Israeli soldiers along the road between Nablus and Tulkarem. The heightened tensions, fueled by the ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza, have prompted the establishment of roadblocks, further complicating the lives of West Bank Palestinians.
For individuals like Handal and the thousands who rely on commuting to Jerusalem for work, education, healthcare, or family visits, the daily uncertainty is palpable. The closures and disruptions have far-reaching consequences, extending to missed school days for students like Ibrahim, the son of Mohammad Jamil, an Arabic teacher from a village near Hebron.
"I can’t even tell someone ‘I’ll meet you tomorrow’ because you don’t know what’s going to happen," laments Jamil, expressing the frustration and helplessness that permeates daily life in the West Bank.
The struggle for normalcy in the face of such adversity is compounded by a broader existential concern. Jamil articulates a prevailing sentiment among West Bank Palestinians, highlighting the absence of a viable future and a lingering sense of hopelessness.
As the West Bank grapples with increasing restrictions and settler violence amid the escalating Gaza war, the stories of individuals like Handal and Jamil underscore the profound impact of geopolitical conflicts on the lives of ordinary people, caught in the crossfire of larger, deeply entrenched disputes.
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