"We were expecting this."

The eyes of Israeli settlers have always been on the West Bank. This is the heart of agricultural production. It is a natural resource-rich area that settlers want to annex. This is a policy of apartheid imposed on Palestinians. In the West Bank, settlers live as Israeli citizens, according to the law. But Palestineans in the same area are subject to a regime of harassment. They are deprived of their rights.

From day one when this ceasefire was reached in Gaza, we have witnessed a massive attack of settlers against many villages in the West Bank – burning, destroying and damaging vehicles and properties of Palestinians. A massive military operation has started in the north, starting with Jenin. The military troops are the same troops that were fighting in Gaza. Their military operations in the West Bank are similar. The Israeli army announced that this operation may continue for months. It will target not only Jenin but other areas.

What we are experiencing is an escalating policy of occupation. Along with this military operation, a large number of military checkpoints, road closures, and iron gates have been established, cutting off the connectivity between villages, towns, cities, and farmland areas. 

From October 7th 2023 until now, 898 roadblocks have been established. One hundred and seventy-four of them have been established since  January 1, 2025. These are 174 iron gates around villages and towns, caging Palestinian communities, and putting them into ghettos. From the time of the Ceasefire deal alone, 24 new iron gates have been installed. The entire West Bank is closed.

This is a plan to displace Palestinians from their communities and transfer them to Jordan. The government has said this publicly many times. The real war now is in the West Bank. We were expecting this. 

We have branches across the West Bank and Gaza with a network of 20,000 farmers who have joined the union. Most of our farmers live from what they produce. Things escalated quickly after the ceasefire. Their lives are becoming hell.

One of our women farmers was killed on a farm while harvesting olives, similar to another farmer who was killed last olive harvest season. For this past olive harvest season, another 55 farmers were injured by settler bullets. Others [have been] attacked, beaten, cuffed, and thrown under their olives for the whole day. Large quantities of olive crops, equipment, and harvesting machines have been stolen by settlers. 

The journey of a farmer to his farmland is now a journey of suffering – a journey that might end tragically by him never coming back home because of a settler attack. The day-to-day reality of the current situation is incredibly overwhelming and heartbreaking.

Our concern, to be honest, is because of this ceasefire the international community will feel they achieved something and that the war is over. Please be aware that the war is still here in the West Bank. Ethnic cleansing is happening here.

The pressure we need is not statements of concern or statements of condemnation.  What is needed are actions against the occupation. Otherwise, this government and the settlers will perceive the weak reaction from the international community as an indirect incentive to continue with their plans of annexation.  Sanctioning Israel and holding settler institutions accountable is a top priority issue. International solidarity is much more needed now than it was before. 

According to international law, settlements are illegal. Why, then, are they not sanctioned? If it is a crime, then there is a need to take action against it. What is the world waiting for? How much blood do they want to see in West Bank until they can act? 

They waited in Gaza. In Gaza, we lost more than 50,000 lives. More than 120,000 were injured and 2.2 million people were displaced.  What is needed for the international community to feel embarrassed?

We rely on people and movements around the world to continue their solidarity and advocacy campaigns, supporting Palestinian rights and pressuring the occupation to stop all crimes they are committing. You can pressure your governments to take serious actions against the occupation and the settlement expansion in the West Bank.

Farmers on the ground need direct support as well. This is very important. We can counter these crimes and attacks by supporting the resilience of farmers. That requires implementing programmes to support Palestinian farmers by keeping them on their land,  to protect that land from being confiscated. Because if their land is not cultivated, then it will be easy to annex. Farmers whose lands were destroyed due to attacks and military invasions need support. That requires international attention and funding. 

For its part, Gaza is a humanitarian catastrophe. The entire world must pitch in to bring Gaza back to life. It will need years of interventions, not only for human beings, but also so the land that can produce life again.