May 2024: Palestinian Commission Records 1,659 Israeli Attacks in West Bank
Ramallah - The Chairman of the Commission against the Wall and Settlements, Minister Mu’ayyad Sha’ban, stated that Israeli forces and settlers carried out a total of 1,659 attacks during May, continuing what he described as systematic terror by the occupying forces against the Palestinian people, their land, and their property.
In the commission’s monthly report released on Saturday, Sha’ban noted that occupation troops conducted 1,108 attacks, while settlers carried out 551 attacks. He emphasised that these attacks were primarily concentrated in the Hebron and Ramallah and al-Bireh governorates, which each recorded 319 attacks. This was followed by Nablus Governorate with 301 attacks and Bethlehem with 212 attacks.
Sha’ban highlighted that the attacks included direct physical violence, the uprooting of trees, the burning of agricultural land, the prevention of farmers’ access to their lands, the seizure of property, and the destruction of homes and agricultural buildings. He pointed out that these practices occur alongside the closure of vast areas of Palestinian land under the pretext of security, while simultaneously providing protection and support to settlers to enable the expansion of their presence in these territories.
The West Bank is a landmass in the Middle East located west of the Jordan River. Covering an area of more than 5,000 square kilometres, it is inhabited by approximately 3.3 million Palestinians and around 700,000 Israeli settlers living in settlements. Key and historic cities in the region include Ramallah, Hebron, Nablus, Bethlehem, and Jericho.
The Oslo Accords (1993-1995) divided the West Bank into three administrative zones (Areas A, B, and C) as a transitional step towards the establishment of a Palestinian self-governing authority (Palestinian Authority or PA). Area A covers approximately 18 per cent of the West Bank and includes major Palestinian urban population centres such as Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarm, Qalqilya, Ramallah, Bethlehem, and Jericho. Area B covers about 21-22 per cent of the West Bank, encompassing hundreds of villages and densely populated Palestinian areas outside the major cities. Area C is the largest zone, covering approximately 60 per cent of the West Bank, including all Israeli settlements, main roads, closed military zones, and fertile agricultural lands.