by Katie Wera
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Things here in the West Bank have slowly been building up. Strikes, demonstrations and minor clashes with the Israeli security forces have been a constant feature of everyday life over the past four months.
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Last Wednesday, when Operation Pillar of Defense was officially launched with the killing of Ahmed Jabari, I was on my way from Ramallah to Jerusalem, where I was welcomed by a demonstration in support of Gaza. It wasn?t until Thursday morning that I saw the headlines of the death of Jabari and realised that things had become more intense. On Friday, as my friend and I walked around the Old City in Jerusalem, we were stunned by the huge number of Israeli soldiers and policemen. Security forces had been positioned at every corner and several larger groups of soldiers marched on the streets.
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We heard that the Israeli defence minister had announced the mobilisation of 16,000 reservists, a number that has been further increased to 75,000. Males under the age of 40 were banned from entering Al-Aqsa mosque for Friday prayers, a common security measure taken by Israel whenever the political situation is tense. We saw many young men praying just outside the Haram As-Sharif and many more by Damascus Gate who were altogether denied entry into the Old City. Scuffles broke out there which led to the arrest of several people. It was strange watching these clashes on live TV inside the Old City, just minutes away from the scene itself.
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The atmosphere here in the West Bank is incredibly tense. Everyone is feverishly following the news. Cheesy Nancy Ajram songs on the bus have been replaced by live coverage of the events in Gaza. Every shop and every house I?ve visited over the past few days has had the news on in the background. Worried discussions about the situation in Gaza dominate all conversations.
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I have been following local news and social media, heard accounts from eye witnesses and attended and witnessed a few clashes myself. At Qalandiya yesterday, I saw the Israeli army shooting teargas and rubber bullets at a Palestinian youth throwing rocks. A two-year old was killed there on Sunday after being hit by a gas bomb that burned him to death. At a protest by Ofer prison in Ramallah, we were badly tear-gassed and the army used rubber bullets against us. During the hour and a half that I was there, I saw three injured people being taken away by the ambulance. Last night, Al-Jazeera (who seems to be the only major news agency reporting anything on the situation here) reported that a Palestinian man died from a wound inflicted by a live bullet he received during clashes in Nabi Saleh, a village I had visited just the day before. I can only see the situation here deteriorating unless the Israeli attack against Gaza stops.
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People in the West Bank feel a deep connection with those of Gaza and despite the physical distance and the difference in political, economic and living conditions between the two sides, both widely identify as being part of the one nation of Palestine. My Facebook newsfeed is full of West Bank Palestinians expressing solidarity and standing in unity with the people of Gaza. This statement recently came up on my Facebook newsfeed: ?Zionists ran away since the first rocket fell! You know why? Because it is not their land! They do not know how to die for it!? To me, this comment is very revealing of the attitude of the Palestinian people and their powerful spirit of resistance. This is a nation of fighters, a nation that has been through decades of suffering and injustice under Israeli colonisation and occupation and although they have not yet managed to shake off their oppressors, their spirits have not been broken.
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As the Facebook statement reveals, there are many people here willing to die for their country and its liberation. Dying as a martyr, going to prison or being injured during the struggle for national independence is normal. I cannot remember visiting a family house without seeing at least one framed photo of a family member who died at the hands of the Israeli army.
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In my Arabic class, one of the social occasions that we studied, alongside weddings and funerals, was the release from prison. It is estimated that 40% of today?s male population in Palestine have been arrested at some point in their lives. At every protest I?m always shocked by how normal this seems, how the people here do not seem to be afraid of clashes with soldiers and risks of getting severely injured, arrested or killed.
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In this environment of oppression, injustice and violence, life is cheap and people are not afraid to risk it. What is there to lose after all, when your father is imprisoned, your brother killed, you house demolished, your land and water confiscated, your olive trees burnt, the economy crippled, and you?re left with nothing but humiliation, despair and bitterness? The more desperate and angry people will get; the more likely they are to join in protests.
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Today, diplomatic efforts are stepping up and it could well be that this soon leads to a truce between Gaza and Israel. However, if this is not the case and especially if Israel decides to go ahead with invading Gaza, then I am convinced that protests and clashes here will also continue and intensify and that the West Bank will get even more caught up in unrest and resistance against the Israeli occupation.
Related posts:
- President Obama needs to take a firmer stance with Israel
- The arab spring: Israel?s winter of discontent
- Deputy Israeli Ambassador urges us to ?look forward?
- There are no excuses
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