When the Israeli government makes choices, Palestinians suffer the deadly consequences
By Suraya Dadoo
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Choices have consequences. But when the Israeli government makes choices, it is Palestinians that suffer the deadly consequences.
Resistance – in all its manifestations - across all of occupied Palestine over the past week is the product of a number of strategic choices made by Israel over the last month.
Ramadaan ended with Israel’s devastating bombardment of Gaza, but the assault on Palestinians quietly began in occupied Jerusalem at the beginning of the holy month, when Israeli authorities banned Palestinians from gathering at Damascus Gate in the Old City. Daily protests followed.
Israel chooses violence
From the repression in Sheikh Jarrah to the bombing of Gaza, the Israeli government has opted to escalate its brutality toward Palestinians.
Israeli police storm Damascus Gate in Jerusalem s Old City, during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, April 26, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
The escalation in violence across Israel-Palestine over the past days is primarily the result of a number of choices made by the Israeli government. While such violence is far from unprecedented in our region, and has been inherent to Israel’s oppressive policies for decades, these are choices that ultimately serve the interests of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is desperately fighting to save his political career and avoid potential time behind bars.
Judah Ari Gross is The Times of Israel s military correspondent.
Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian village in the northern West Bank in the predawn hours of Monday morning, throwing rocks and starting fires, in an apparent act of revenge following a shooting attack nearby the day before, according to the left-wing human rights group B’Tselem.
Clashes broke out between the residents of Jaloud village and the Israelis from the nearby Shiloh settlement, whereupon the Israel Defense Forces and Border Police attempted to break up the fighting by firing rubber-coated bullets and other riot dispersal weapons at the Palestinians, injuring four people.
Monday, 3 May, 2021 - 04:30
Israeli soldiers stand guard after closing the entrance of Nablus city in the occupied West Bank, on May 2, 2021, following a reported attack. (Jaafar Ashtiyeh /AFP) Asharq Al-Awsat
Three Israelis were wounded Sunday in a drive-by shooting in the occupied West Bank, medics and the army said, with Defense Minister Benny Gantz blaming “terrorists” for the attack.
The shooting at a bus station at Tapuah junction south of Nablus bore the hallmark of Palestinian militants, according to AFP.
“A suspicious vehicle arrived at the junction and fired toward Israeli civilians who were present at the scene,” the army said in a statement.
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Fahima al-Hroub, 60, a resident of Wadi Fukin killed by Israeli forces during an alleged stabbing attack on May 1, 2021 (courtesy: al-Hroub family)
The Palestinian woman shot and killed by Israeli soldiers who believed her to be committing a terror attack suffered from prior mental illness and had recently attempted suicide, her family told The Times of Israel on Monday.
“She began to feel that everything was going wrong, and suddenly, over the last three months, her mental state deteriorated. We were shocked,” Fahima al-Hroub’s brother Ibrahim said in a phone call.
Fahima al-Hroub, a 60-year-old resident of Wadi Fukin near Bethlehem, was shot by Israeli soldiers on Sunday after she approached them brandishing a knife near the Gush Etzion junction.