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Why a West Bank Front Has Not Opened So Far

(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Neomi Neumann - At a time when the IDF is focused on waging war against Hamas and deterring Hizbullah, Hamas' calls to open a second Palestinian front in the West Bank have gone largely unheeded. At the same time, Israeli troops are engaged in daily operations to suppress violence there. According to the Israel Security Agency, 128 significant terrorist attacks (that resulted in Israeli casualties) have been carried out in or from the West Bank since Oct. 7 - 101 in the northern part (Samaria) and 27 in the southern part (Judea). The vast majority were shootings (112), followed by stabbings (6), vehicular attacks (4), explosions (4), and rocket fire (2). There has been a significant decline in terrorist attacks over the past three weeks compared to the huge spike seen in the first three weeks after Oct. 7. The IDF's daily operations are having an impact, with the killing of senior terrorists, the seizure of arms caches, and the introduction of the use of drones. Moreover, 2,150 Palestinians have been arrested in the West Bank since Oct. 7. While PA President Mahmoud Abbas and senior Fatah figures have publicly condemned Israel, many PA officials privately hope that the IDF succeeds in smashing Hamas and killing its leaders. To facilitate this goal, PA forces have served as a restraining factor, preventing the public from confronting Israeli troops during IDF counterterrorism operations. The PA justifies this approach by telling the public that it is protecting them. The best explanation for the relative passivity of most West Bank Palestinians is the traumatic memory of the second intifada, when they paid a huge price but failed to secure significant political achievements after four years of violence. The writer, a visiting fellow at The Washington Institute, is former head of the research unit at the Israel Security Agency.
2023-12-17 00:00:00
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