Daoud Kuttab
While the vast majority of worldwide attention has been focused on the Israeli war on Gaza, the situation in the West Bank, especially in East Jerusalem, as well as in Israel itself, has not been easy for Palestinians. The distance between Jerusalem and the Beit Hanoun (Erez) Crossing into Gaza is relatively short at 67 km and, by car, the journey does not take more than an hour. But the events since the Al-Aqsa Flood operation have brought the people of Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip even closer in terms of Palestinian feelings of solidarity and unity.
Having declared war against Hamas several weeks ago, Israel has also been cracking down on Palestinians in the West Bank. Since Oct. 7, the policy of war has removed any restrictions on Israeli soldiers. More than 90 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, mainly in clashes with Israeli troops, whose rules of engagement have been even further loosened. The Israeli military has carried out a string of raids against Palestinians in the West Bank – especially those in the northern cities of Nablus, Jenin and Tulkarem. This intensifying Israeli policy was also demonstrated at a widely broadcast event, in which Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir announced that his ministry would procure 10,000 rifles for Jewish civilian security teams in the West Bank.
At the same time, Palestinians’ emotional and national rapprochement has had a major and difficult impact on the lives and work of Jerusalemites. The link between Gaza and Al-Aqsa has provided an opening for the occupier, and many Israelis, to brutalize and bully in an attempt to regain superiority following the Oct. 7 attack. In particular, Jerusalemites who have been suffering since the signing of the Oslo Accords have been feeling like political orphans for some time. The Al-Aqsa tsunami made the bad situation in the city even more difficult on all fronts.
The events in Gaza reveal the depth of Israel’s racism and arrogance and have brought back feelings of anger and disgust, which will increase cases of repression and these may turn into an explosion sooner or later. The occupier will say that he was surprised by the causes of the explosion, even though the main reason was the unnatural and unsustainable state of the occupation, which has no radical cure for freedom and independence. Many Palestinian workers have refrained from going to work and some have received threats that they will be fired if their absence continues, with employers seeming not to care about their workers’ access difficulties or the restrictions they face. Some workers complained that their employers insisted on searching the contents of their private phones to confirm the absence of any signs of solidarity with their people. With the continuation of the aggression on Gaza and the absence of any form of ceasefire, many Jerusalemite workers have become confused about their situation as, due to their living conditions, many of them have been forced to go to work, even if they endure longer journeys to reach their workplace. Many of them have erased the contents of their phones so that they would not be fired.
The declaration of war has allowed Israel to take much harsher measures against Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. The new policy shifts have included much tighter internal controls through checkpoints within the West Bank, as well as more stringent checks and disruptions for Palestinians in the West Bank. This includes prolonged periods where the King Hussein Bridge, which connects the West Bank with Jordan, has been closed or limited in terms of the number of people allowed to travel in either direction. Travel permits, including for workers, have been canceled for hundreds of Palestinians, thus affecting not only workers and businesses, but also individuals seeking medical treatment both in Jerusalem and in Israel.
Meanwhile, Palestinians living just beyond the wall have found themselves unable to travel, especially in their cars, to other parts of Jerusalem, with Israel applying a draconian regulation restricting Palestinians to the neighborhoods in which they are registered according to their Israeli-issued identification cards. While travel by car has been restricted for anyone, including Jerusalemites, living beyond the wall, some have been able to bypass these restrictions by using dual-used checkpoints, such as the Hizma checkpoint in the north and the tunnel checkpoint near Bethlehem.
Young Palestinians in and around Jerusalem’s Old City say they have been stopped by Israeli soldiers, with some confiscating their cellphones to determine if they contain any material that can be considered supportive of the Palestinian struggle in general and Hamas in particular. In Israel proper, similar bullying was reported by university students and employees, including at least one hospital worker, with some saying they were suspended or lost their jobs because they expressed solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
Adalah, a Haifa-based nongovernmental organization, said that at least 40 Palestinian citizens of Israel had been suspended from university in recent weeks. The tense situation facing Palestinians, in Israel and the West Bank as well as Gaza, has caused a deep schism in the region that will have its effects for years to come. The distance between Gaza and Jerusalem has become both closer and further due to the events of Oct. 7.
