A slow death in the West Bank: The other face of Israel’s genocide

While many cautiously watch the fragile ceasefire in Gaza, Israel’s relentless war on Palestinian life continues — from Gaza to Tulkarm and Jenin — where raids, demolitions, and humiliation persist unabated.

According to Middle East Eye, writing about Israel’s genocide in the West Bank is no easy task; the suffocation of life there may not be as catastrophic as in Gaza, but it is nonetheless devastating.

In recent weeks, Israel has advanced its E1 settlement plan, a step toward formal annexation that fragments the West Bank, while its forces have intensified daily raids and arrests across cities and refugee camps.

Meanwhile, Israeli settlers, enjoying complete impunity, continue terrorizing Palestinian communities — burning olive groves, uprooting trees, expanding military outposts, and attacking families in their homes and on roads.

Tulkarm: The epicenter of genocide

Conditions in Palestine worsen by the hour. Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s Finance Minister, has threatened to level Tulkarm to the ground, just as Israel did in Gaza.

The West Bank has descended into chaos and disorder, and employees of the UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency) have faced severe repression.

At every checkpoint, the speed and ease of travel depend entirely on the mood and whims of Israeli soldiers—on whether they choose to show compassion that day.

Soldiers point their weapons directly at Palestinians’ faces, treat them as criminals during body searches, and demand passports, IDs, and mobile phones.

Drones, tear gas, and live gunfire have become a daily reality in the West Bank. Snipers on rooftops and drones hovering overhead stand ready to shoot at anything deemed a “potential threat.”

The targeting and killing of civilians—through windows, from rooftops, or simply for walking down a street—has become heartbreakingly common.

The Nur Shams refugee camp is a vivid example of life under siege. The destruction there is staggering: many buildings reduced to rubble, shops damaged or flattened, and homes bulldozed into debris.

The phrase “collateral damage”, used by Israel to justify the killing of Palestinians during military operations, reduces the lives of Palestinian martyrs to mere numbers. The stories and images from Tulkarm’s camps are deeply harrowing.

Shattered lives in the West Bank

The impact of Israeli soldiers’ and settlers’ crimes goes beyond individuals and homes.

Nurseries and greenhouses that sustain Palestinian livelihoods have been destroyed or confiscated; livestock stolen and crops ruined.

This is a deliberate tactic to undermine Palestinian survival. Settlers routinely vandalize farmland, set orchards ablaze, and uproot ancient olive trees that have stood for generations.

The medical sector is equally dire. Doctors have detailed how Israeli forces routinely obstruct their work during raids.

A 42-year-old doctor in the West Bank described how vulnerable patients, especially those requiring dialysis or kidney transplants, have suffered immensely; immunosuppressive drugs were out of stock for over a month, leading to severe complications.

Another physician, aged 26, explained that stroke and heart attack victims rarely survive, since Tulkarm lacks a catheterization lab for emergency intervention. Transferring patients to Nablus can take hours—causing the “golden hour” (the crucial 30–60 minutes for saving lives) to be lost.

This is not only a medical emergency but a moral one, as Israel deliberately strangles and weaponizes the healthcare system.

Collective punishment in the West Bank

In Jenin, particularly within its refugee camp, even more harrowing accounts emerge: air and ground attacks persist, and children are being killed at alarming rates.

Israel’s campaign of mass arrests continues, along with home invasions and public humiliation.

As weeks pass, Palestinians in the West Bank find themselves on the brink of a new wave of violence and confrontation.

The brutality of the occupation knows no bounds—nothing, however horrific, is unimaginable anymore.

This collective punishment continues across Tulkarm, Jenin, Tubas, and the entire West Bank: illegal demolitions, night raids, inhumane treatment, humiliation, and violence are routine acts by Israeli soldiers and settlers.

Today, even amid the so-called ceasefire, Palestinians in the West Bank mourn for Gaza, where people still endure mass death, starvation, and destruction on an unimaginable scale.

Israel’s genocide in the West Bank is slower but equally deliberate, unraveling the fabric of daily life — confirming that this gradual death is part of the same genocidal project unfolding in Gaza.