The past few months have seen the evolution of two dynamics in parallel — the proliferation of “lone wolf” attacks, and the expansion of organized Palestinian armed resistance groups. Israel has worked hard to eradicate both types of resistance, yet it has had considerably less success in anticipating and preventing the actions of the lone wolves.

Last week, the Israeli army’s ongoing military campaign against armed Palestinian resistance groups shifted its focus from the Old City of Nablus (after claiming to have quelled the Lions’ Den resistance group there) to Balata refugee camp.

Jenin refugee camp has been turned into a “liberated area” by armed resistance factions. Now the resistance hopes the Jenin model will spread to other parts of the West Bank.

Welcome to the first in our new series, the West Bank Dispatch. This newsletter will cover the main developments you need to know about Palestinian resistance to Israeli settler-colonialism in the occupied West Bank. Each week we’ll bring you key developments, analysis from our Palestine news team, and insight into what Palestinians living under Israeli apartheid in the West Bank are reading and talking about.

The West Bank and Jerusalem are “on fire.” 

It’s a term we’re seeing used more and more across social media, the news, and opinion pieces talking about the current events in the occupied Palestinian territory. But what exactly is unfolding in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem right now, and why? What makes it different from what we’ve seen in recent history, and what does it mean for the future of Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation and settler-colonialism?

We are currently seeing an unprecedented moment of Palestinian resistance across the West Bank. It’s too early to tell where events will lead — whether it’s the historic turning point or the last gasp of protest before something even worse — but what’s certain is that Palestinians are on the precipice of returning to a state of refusal, if not full-fledged resistance, to the settler-colonial reality some would have them ignore. The current moment will ultimately be decided by militant mass support and the expansion of resistance activity to the rest of the West Bank.