March 11, 2025 (EIRNS)—On March 10 the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem issued a report to warn the world that, while the Israeli government speaks of “ceasefire” in Gaza, it is conducting the most intense military operations in at least two decades in the occupied West Bank. The report details that Israel’s military tactics in the West Bank are a repeat of its tactics in Gaza—forced mass displacements, a surge in airstrikes, and the deliberate targeting of children and other noncombatants. The group also cites the destruction of civilian housing and civilian infrastructure; the killing of medical personnel; and an equal disregard for international law. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich reportedly said that the “Tulkarm and Jenin [refugee camps] will look like Jabaliya and Shujayah [in Gaza].”
The killing of 180 children is unprecedented in the history of Israel’s West Bank occupation—more than double the rate of even the worst years of violence (2000-2004) in the second Intifada. The killing of children is a direct result of Israel’s easing restrictions on “open fire” rules of engagement, according to a report in Haaretz. The displacement of 40,000 people from three refugee camps—Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams—is the largest displacement since the occupation began in 1967, and Defense Minister Israel Katz has already said that these displaced Palestinians would not be permitted to return to their homes for at least the duration of the year.
