The second surprise will come from the West Bank

The second surprise will not come suddenly. It may be less deadly than the October 7 surprise, but its price will be high. And when it falls on our heads, stunned by the brutality of the enemy, no one can wash their hands and claim that they did not know what would happen to us. The Israeli army is the last person who has the right to claim this, because it itself did not stop warning us. It warned, but it did not do anything to prevent it. Therefore, his responsibility will be no less than his responsibility for the “massacre” of the south, and no less than the responsibility of the settlers and politicians who prevent him from working.

The next pressure cooker will explode in our faces in the boiling bank. The army knows this, and its leaders do not stop warning about the situation. But these warnings are hypocritical, and unspeakably shameless, when the Israeli army and its soldiers are the ones fanning the fire no less than the settlers. Pretending that because of the settlers we will be facing a second front is a lie and nonsense. If the army wanted, it could have worked to calm the square immediately. If it wanted to, it could have acted against the settlers, just as a regular army works against militias and local factions.

The enemy in the West Bank are also the settlers, against whom the Israeli army does not take any action. Its soldiers are active participants in the massacres, in abusing the residents, photographing them, insulting them, killing them, arresting them, destroying their memorials, such as the Yasser Arafat monument in Tulkarm, and kidnapping thousands from their beds - all to fuel the fire. Soldiers thirsty to kill, envious of their comrades in Gaza, and pouring out their anger on the ground.

The light and enthusiastic hand on the trigger has led to the killing of about 200 people since the outbreak of the war, and nothing stops the killing, no brigade, no command, no division commander, and no commanders in the field to stop this rampage. They want this too, and it is difficult to believe that fear of the settlers paralyzes them. After all, they are considered brave.

The settlers are in a state of ecstasy. The stench of blood and destruction wafting from Gaza pushes them into more out-of-the-ordinary riots. The point is no longer tales of weeds: the settlement project, with its projects and budgets, does nothing against the massacres resulting from it. For the settlers, the war is their great opportunity, and in light of the war and the “brutality of Hamas,” the opportunity has become ripe to expel the largest possible number of residents from their villages, especially the most weak and isolated, ahead of the great transfer that will occur in the next war, or the one that will come after it.

This week, I visited the forbidden zone in southern Hebron. I had never seen it like this before. Every settler is a member of the “readiness lines,” and every “readiness line” is an armed militia, and it has the right to abuse and expel shepherds and farmers. 16 villages in the West Bank have been left by their people, and the transfer continues with full force.

The Israeli army does not exist. Israel has never cared about what is happening in the West Bank, and now, it is certainly not ready to hear what is happening there. While the international media cares a lot about this, because they understand where this is leading.

Behind all of this stands Israeli arrogance, and this arrogance is what was behind October 7. The lives of Palestinians are worthless, and concern for their fate and the occupation is a source of nuisance. The prevailing thinking is that if we ignore them, things will be fine.

What is happening in the West Bank, currently, is an unbelievable phenomenon. Israel has learned nothing, even after October 7. If the “Gaza envelope” disaster occurred after years of siege, denial, and neglect, then the disaster that will befall us after it is caused by Israel not taking the warnings, threats, and difficult situation seriously.

The West Bank is groaning, and no one in Israel hears its screams. The settlers are carrying out their attacks, and no one in Israel is stopping them. How much will the Palestinians tolerate? Israel will pay the bill, and it will be very bloody.

Source: Haretz