Israel’s ‘state of emergency’ continues its colonial structure of repression and dispossession
Israeli settler militias and forces killed 6 Palestinians during the first week of Israel’s illegal attack on Iran. The settlers are increasingly using a shoot-to-kill practice against Palestinians. Israel’s policies of violence it has long used since its inception have intensified and expanded them under the fog of this war.
On March 9, Israel’s Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, authorized residents of Jewish neighbourhoods in Jerusalem to carry firearms. Israelis of 41 Jewish neighbourhoods in the city can now apply for a licence to carry a gun, which makes around 300,000 Israelis residing in Jerusalem eligible.
On March 8, settler militias, with the support of the occupation army, attacked the village of Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah city in the occupied West Bank, and killed 3 Palestinians.
Settler militias shot and killed Thaer Farouk Hamayel, 24, and Farea Jawdat Hamayel, 57, with live bullets. The settlers directly targeted them as they defended their homes from settler militias’ pogroms. Settler militias also killed Mohammed Hussein Marra, 55, after he inhaled large quantities of toxic gas that the occupation forces heavily fired towards Palestinians. Marra’s heart stopped before he even reached the hospital.
On March 7, settler militias attacked and killed Amir Shnaran in Wadi Al-Rukheim, in the city of Yatta, east of Hebron. Amir and his brothers were protecting their homes while settlers grazed their sheep into Palestinian homes.
Ghettoizing Palestinians
Since the start of the war Israel has closed many more roads to Palestinians,through barriers and iron gates as part of Israel’s apartheid regime. Israeli authorities open roads and places of worship to Israelis while closing them to Palestinians, particularly at the large checkpoints at city entrances.
On March 6, Israeli occupation forces closed the main entrances to the town of Sebastia, northwest of Nablus. Israeli bulldozers blocked three primary entrances with earthen barriers, further restricting Palestinian movement into and out of the village. On March 8, Israeli forces destroyed a main water pipeline in the town of Sebastia, northwest of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank, cutting water supplies to dozens of Palestinian homes.
Forced Displacement of Bedouin communities
Israel accelerated the forced displacement of Bedouin communities. Israeli settlers, backed by the army, are exploiting the situation to expel more rural Palestinian communities from their land, as they did in the days immediately following October 7. Since this current war began, settlers and occupation forces displaced four Palestinian Bedouin communities: the Shakara community near the village of Duma, south of Nablus; Khirbet Yarza in the northern Jordan Valley; the Sawana community south of Hebron; and the Khallat Hassan community near Salfit.
Uprooting of Palestinian trees
During this week, Israel also increased the military orders targeting trees. Since the start of the war on Iran, the occupation has issued 11 military orders to uproot trees across an estimated area 817 dunams in several governorates in the occupied West Bank. Of these orders, 7 targeted the Ramallah Governorate, while one order each targeted Bethlehem, Jenin, Nablus, and Tulkarm.
On March 4, Israeli authorities ordered the uprooting of olive trees in the areas of Ein al-Haramiya, Wadi al-Balat and Wadi al-Zaytoun near Silwad, east of Ramallah. Israel has seized land in Silwad to construct a military bypass road that would connect Jabal al-Assur military base with nearby settlements.