JENIN, West Bank – Ramadan nights in this Palestinian city were normally spent staying up late watching drama and comedy series during w...
JENIN, West Bank – Ramadan nights in this Palestinian city were normally spent staying up late watching drama and comedy series during what is TV peak season, praying or drinking coffee and smoking hookahs in all-night cafes.
But this year in Jenin, amid a massive Israeli military operation across the occupied West Bank, residents were staying up late waiting for the next military raid on their town.
“We are exhausted,” said Israa Awartani, 32, who works in a theater. “We’re starting to think: when will it be my turn? When will it be my son or another family member? »
Over the course of a week last month, Israeli forces carried out an extensive campaign of raids on West Bank towns and villages, killing at least 14 Palestinians, in response to a spate of recent Palestinian attacks inside Israel. Israel who killed 14 people. Israeli authorities imposed temporary economic sanctions and arrested dozens of people.
Israel said the increased military activity was a counterterrorism effort to prevent further attacks, and that it focused them on the towns and villages where recent attackers were born. However, Palestinian residents and critics say the operation amounts to collective punishment and is counterproductive, as it will only further fuel the cycle of hatred and bloodshed.
“The goal is always to increase the pressure but it never works. If it worked, you wouldn’t see the same cycle of violence that we see every year,” said Tahani Mustafa, West Bank analyst at the International Crisis. Group.
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