"Sheikh Jarrah" is in the crosshairs of the Israeli attacks again with the approach of the elections "Sheikh Jarrah" is in the crosshairs of the Israeli attacks again with the approach of the elections

"Sheikh Jarrah" is in the crosshairs of the Israeli attacks again with the approach of the elections

Does Israel seek to avoid an all-out confrontation in the West Bank? Since the beginning of 2022, the Israeli army has been carrying out a series of operations focused on the West Bank, during which it has killed a number of Palestinians and arrested others. Experts believe that "Israel is not interested in carrying out a long incursion to arrest and liquidate Palestinian militants."  Since the beginning of 2022, the Israeli army has been carrying out a series of operations focused on the cities of Nablus, Jenin and Tubas in the northern West Bank, during which a number of Palestinians were killed and others were arrested.  In those operations, the Israeli army came under fire from resistance fighters, and faced hundreds of angry Palestinians who threw stones and Molotov cocktails at its vehicles.  On Wednesday, the army surrounded a house in the town of Deir al-Hatab, east of Nablus, and arrested the young man, Suleiman Omran, after an armed clash that lasted about 3 hours, resulting in the death of a Palestinian and the injury of others.  Concentrated operations to eliminate resistance  In this context, Palestinian political experts say, "Israel is seeking to get rid of Palestinian militants by carrying out focused and rapid military operations."  Experts believe that "Israel is not interested in carrying out a long incursion to arrest and liquidate Palestinian militants."  The expert on Israeli affairs, Khaldoun Barghouti, believes that "the Israeli discourse gives the army the full right to do what it wants in the Palestinian territories, including intrusion and killing." However, he says, "The Israeli army pursues a policy of implementing focused and rapid operations, storming Palestinian cities and carrying out a quick operation that arrests or kills Palestinians and withdraws."  Barghouti added that "Israel is not thinking of going into an invasion of the Palestinian territories, and this is not on its schedule."  This is due to "political considerations represented by Israel's image before the world and international reactions, and to the fact that the invasion means undermining the Palestinian Authority or causing its collapse, which Tel Aviv does not want."  He says, "Israel hopes that its operations will lead to thwarting and eliminating armed groups without carrying out a large-scale operation in which soldiers may be killed, which will affect the government's position ahead of the elections."  Barghouti believes that the Israeli escalation on the ground comes in light of a political crisis in Israel due to the repeated holding of the Knesset (parliament) elections.  He added, "In Israel, a prime minister who does not come from a military background seeks to prove himself through political decisions related to security, and a defense minister from a military background seeks to market himself politically."  He continues: "What we see is courtship with the Israeli right and an attempt to win their votes."  The security situation is deepening  In turn, Suleiman Bisharat, director of the Yabous Center for Studies (private), believes that "the field situation in the West Bank has begun to deepen in one way or another."  This is evidenced by “many indicators, foremost of which is the sequence of operations carried out by resistance fighters against Israeli targets, whether through shootings, throwing stones at settlers’ cars, or targeting Israeli military sites and checkpoints in the West Bank.”  On the other hand, he added, "Israel continues to raid, arrest and kill almost daily, in addition to the settlers' dismemberment of the West Bank, preventing citizens from traveling on external roads, destroying their cars and endangering their lives."  He points out that this results in the strengthening of the state of Palestinian confrontation as a response to the continuous Israeli attacks on the one hand, and on the other hand the Palestinians' rejection of the state of complete closure that the political and field situation is going through, as there is no longer a horizon for the future, and Israel is also working to demolish the concept of Palestinian sovereignty.  Bisharat believes that "the phenomenon of armed groups in the West Bank may begin to expand gradually, and the points of engagement may increase in terms of number and geography, and this may increase the number of losses in the ranks of the Israeli occupation."  He expects that "if the phenomenon of armed groups expands, it will constitute a turning point that will make the situation slip into a more comprehensive confrontation."  Basharat warns that "if there is no quick adjustment to the field situation, things may be candidates for a confrontation period whose duration and tools may expand according to developments in the field." "Sheikh Jarrah" is in the crosshairs of the Israeli attacks again with the approach of the elections

Residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem are increasingly concerned about the escalation of Israeli attacks, by using the elections to intensify attacks and to outbid, especially with the Israeli right threatening to expel them from their homes if it wins.

Palestinians in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem fear that settlers will increase their attacks before the Israeli elections, and will expel them from their homes if the hard-right right wins.

Ahmed al-Tibi, an Arab member of the Knesset (Israel's parliament), told Anadolu Agency during a visit to the neighborhood on Monday: "People here are talking about a direct and constant threat to their homes, by throwing stones inside the houses and even threatening to kill, in addition to the general threat of eviction."

A member of the Knesset from the right-wing Israeli "Religious Zionism" party Itamar Ben Gvir leads the settlers' attacks on residents in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

And on Thursday, Ben Gvir published a picture of him on Twitter brandishing his personal weapon, while the residents confronted the settlers' attacks, which was criticized by leaders from the Israeli left.

Ben Gvir responded with a tweet on Twitter in which he said: "The left is angry at a Jew who pointed his gun against a danger to life in the heart of Jerusalem. We have a right in this country, a right to life, a right to self-defense, and a sacred duty to restore governance and restore security."

On Friday, he published a picture of him with his children playing with toys in the form of machine guns, and commented: "After the riots in Shimon Al-Siddiq, I took the children to their games to teach them what to do with the terrorists," referring to the Palestinians.

And "Shimon Al-Siddiq" is the name given to Sheikh Jarrah by the Israeli right-wingers.

Ben Gvir hopes to win more votes in the elections to be held on 1 November by highlighting the hostility to the Palestinians.

In this context, Tibi said: "There are those who are exploiting the elections, such as Itamar Ben Gvir and the settlers' group, to increase these attacks and to increase and extremism."

Ben Gvir had vowed to evict Palestinian families from their homes in the neighborhood, if he got a ministerial portfolio.

Tibi commented, "We hope that Ben Gvir will not be in this government after two or three weeks, because fascism has become a central trend in Israeli society."

He added, "But we are here united to stand with the people of Sheikh Jarrah, as we have stood with them over the years. We have always been together and we will remain together."

For years, dozens of Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah have faced the threat of displacement from their homes in favor of Israeli settlement groups on the pretext that they were "Jewish property before 1948," which the Palestinians deny.

The Palestinians insist that East Jerusalem will be the future capital of their state, while Israel says that Jerusalem, in its eastern and western parts, is its capital.

Does Israel seek to avoid an all-out confrontation in the West Bank?

Since the beginning of 2022, the Israeli army has been carrying out a series of operations focused on the West Bank, during which it has killed a number of Palestinians and arrested others. Experts believe that "Israel is not interested in carrying out a long incursion to arrest and liquidate Palestinian militants."

Since the beginning of 2022, the Israeli army has been carrying out a series of operations focused on the cities of Nablus, Jenin and Tubas in the northern West Bank, during which a number of Palestinians were killed and others were arrested.

In those operations, the Israeli army came under fire from resistance fighters, and faced hundreds of angry Palestinians who threw stones and Molotov cocktails at its vehicles.

On Wednesday, the army surrounded a house in the town of Deir al-Hatab, east of Nablus, and arrested the young man, Suleiman Omran, after an armed clash that lasted about 3 hours, resulting in the death of a Palestinian and the injury of others.

Concentrated operations to eliminate resistance

In this context, Palestinian political experts say, "Israel is seeking to get rid of Palestinian militants by carrying out focused and rapid military operations."

Experts believe that "Israel is not interested in carrying out a long incursion to arrest and liquidate Palestinian militants."

The expert on Israeli affairs, Khaldoun Barghouti, believes that "the Israeli discourse gives the army the full right to do what it wants in the Palestinian territories, including intrusion and killing." However, he says, "The Israeli army pursues a policy of implementing focused and rapid operations, storming Palestinian cities and carrying out a quick operation that arrests or kills Palestinians and withdraws."

Barghouti added that "Israel is not thinking of going into an invasion of the Palestinian territories, and this is not on its schedule."

This is due to "political considerations represented by Israel's image before the world and international reactions, and to the fact that the invasion means undermining the Palestinian Authority or causing its collapse, which Tel Aviv does not want."

He says, "Israel hopes that its operations will lead to thwarting and eliminating armed groups without carrying out a large-scale operation in which soldiers may be killed, which will affect the government's position ahead of the elections."

Barghouti believes that the Israeli escalation on the ground comes in light of a political crisis in Israel due to the repeated holding of the Knesset (parliament) elections.

He added, "In Israel, a prime minister who does not come from a military background seeks to prove himself through political decisions related to security, and a defense minister from a military background seeks to market himself politically."

He continues: "What we see is courtship with the Israeli right and an attempt to win their votes."

The security situation is deepening

In turn, Suleiman Bisharat, director of the Yabous Center for Studies (private), believes that "the field situation in the West Bank has begun to deepen in one way or another."

This is evidenced by “many indicators, foremost of which is the sequence of operations carried out by resistance fighters against Israeli targets, whether through shootings, throwing stones at settlers’ cars, or targeting Israeli military sites and checkpoints in the West Bank.”

On the other hand, he added, "Israel continues to raid, arrest and kill almost daily, in addition to the settlers' dismemberment of the West Bank, preventing citizens from traveling on external roads, destroying their cars and endangering their lives."

He points out that this results in the strengthening of the state of Palestinian confrontation as a response to the continuous Israeli attacks on the one hand, and on the other hand the Palestinians' rejection of the state of complete closure that the political and field situation is going through, as there is no longer a horizon for the future, and Israel is also working to demolish the concept of Palestinian sovereignty.

Bisharat believes that "the phenomenon of armed groups in the West Bank may begin to expand gradually, and the points of engagement may increase in terms of number and geography, and this may increase the number of losses in the ranks of the Israeli occupation."

He expects that "if the phenomenon of armed groups expands, it will constitute a turning point that will make the situation slip into a more comprehensive confrontation."

Basharat warns that "if there is no quick adjustment to the field situation, things may be candidates for a confrontation period whose duration and tools may expand according to developments in the field."

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