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Israel’s priority is the West Bank
Israel’s intense raids in the occupied West Bank, where they have continued to expand settlements during the Gaza war, shows that exerting control over the territory is a top priority, says Hassan Barari, a professor of international affairs at Qatar University.
“Israel’s objective number one is not Gaza, it is the West Bank. This is the heart of what they say is the biblical land,” Barari told Al Jazeera, adding that Israel aims to expel even more Palestinians.
However, the Israeli military is likely to continue facing fierce resistance from a new generation of hardened fighters who are just as committed to protecting their homeland, he says.
The Palestinians “born after the second Intifada are more insistent to realise their objectives, even by violent means”, Barari said, without putting their hopes in the Palestinian Authority (PA).
West Bank ‘a golden opportunity’ for Israelis to try tactics used in Gaza
An Israeli military bulldozer destroys a road during a raid in the Nur Shams camp near Tulkarem, on August 28
Regarding the deadly Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank, Hassan Barari, a professor of international affairs at Qatar University, has told Al Jazeera that “the Israelis think this is a golden opportunity for them to use some tactics used in Gaza unchecked”.
The right-wing government believes Palestinians should leave, and the way to accomplish this is by targeting them and expanding settlements; this has been an objective well before October 7, he said.
“They’ve been doing this for a long time. Netanyahu made it perfectly clear, Smotrich, Ben-Gvir, Katz – even the minister of foreign affairs who is supposed to be even more diplomatic. He’s talking about evacuation and he uses this line that Iran’s infrastructure is in the West Bank, which is a joke.”
Israeli armoured vehicles block a road during a raid in Far’a camp near Tubas city, on August 28
