Editor’s Note: Due to escalations on the ground in Palestine in recent months, the Mondoweiss Palestine Bureau will start publishing the West Bank Dispatch twice a week, Mondays and Thursdays. Monday dispatches will have an added analysis section that goes deeper into a specific topic of importance.
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Key Developments (March 28 – March 30)
- The postponement of the Israeli judicial overhaul to the summer has meant that Palestinians will pay the price, as Prime Minister Netanyahu promises his far-right coalition partner, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, the creation of a special “national guard” answerable to Ben-Gvir and his ministry. This effectively grants the far-right demagogue his own personal militia, which may very well outlast the current government.
- On March 27, Israeli settlers assaulted an ambulance vehicle belonging to Tulkarem Public Hospital, causing damage near the Palestinian town of Beita.
- In a separate attack, settlers also attacked another ambulance vehicle belonging to the Red Crescent, breaking the car’s windows as it transferred injured Palestinians.
- The Palestinian Ministry of Health condemned these attacks and warned against escalating settler violence directed at medical providers, noting that these attacks have been fully documented.
- It has been a week since the last Palestinian, 25-year-old Amir Abu Khadija, was killed in Tulkarem. Abu Khadija was the co-founder of the Fast Response – Tulkarem Battalion
- Israeli forces have escalated their attacks on Palestinian journalists and the media, as two local media offices were closed by military decree this month.
- Acting president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, amended the laws regarding the legally required age of the head of the General Intelligence Services (GIS), while giving the GIS Director the status of a Minister and extending judicial capacity to the position. The current GIS Director is Majed Faraj, widely considered to be a possible contender for succeeding the current acting PA President.
Important figures
- Since the start of the year, 90 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers and the Israeli army, 15 of whom were children and minors (17% of deaths).
- Jenin and Nablus comprise 62 % of all killings at the hands of settlers and the military.
- Since the beginning of the year, Israeli forces and settlers displaced 401 Palestinians, amounting to almost half the number of Palestinians displaced during the entirety of 2022.
Mondoweiss Highlights
Analysts say Palestinians will pay the price for Israeli ‘democracy’, by Yumna Patel
Two farms tell the story of agricultural apartheid facing Palestinians, by Aseel Sharara & Jack Dodson
