Since Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack, Israel has engaged in an increasingly militarized campaign that it says targets West Bank militants, employing tactics like airstrikes that were once nearly unheard of there. The Israel Defense Forces launched a major campaign – “Operation Iron Wall” – focused on the northern West Bank last month. That operation, Israel’s defense minister said last month, was explicitly applying the lessons of Israel’s “repeated raids in Gaza.” Israel’s war in Gaza has destroyed around 90% of housing units, according to the United Nations. The West Bank operation has displaced at least 40,000 Palestinians in the northern West Bank from their homes, according to the United Nations. “The Israeli military are doing this under pretext of security and fighting terrorism,” he said. It is a “purely political” operation, he alleged, to satisfy hardliners in the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In November, Israel’s far-right…
