[Blog] In Gaza the genocide proceeds covertly; in the West Bank ethnic cleansing intensifies openly

It has now been agreed, and even admitted by the Israeli army, that around 71,000 Palestinians have been annihilated. Among them, as corroborated by the IDF, 83% comprised civilians, mainly women and children. In fact, according to WHO and UNICEF, a child was being killed every ten minutes or a full classroom of children was being decimated every few hours. Imagine being a teacher and seeing your pupils just evaporate in front of your eyes within seconds. This massacre continued openly while the world watched brazenly until a ceasefire was mediated by the American President in October last year.

But while the bombings have subsided and the artillery has reduced in intensity, it does not mean that the people of Gaza have stopped perishing. In fact, since the proclamation of the so-called ceasefire, Israel has breached it 1,620 times (that is, 107 out of 124 days) and proceeded with the killing of 591 Gazans, including 120 children. Alongside this silent slaughter, another sinister tragedy is unfolding inexorably. This is what human rights organizations have termed “slow-motion genocide”. It refers to the havoc caused by the harsh winter to the people of Gaza living in terrific conditions in ramshackle tents, in rubble, in blown-up houses, in ruins and in utter desolation.

By denying the entry of materials to Gaza, Israel has exposed the inhabitants to hypothermia, which has already claimed the lives of 21 children. On the other hand, by restricting the entry of humanitarian aid to the barest minimum and dispensing it in a trickle-down manner, Israel has engineered the spectre of famine and starvation in Gaza. While before the ceasefire it was the bombs that used to tear bodies apart, it is now the spectacle of shrivelling bodies, of cries for food, of pains of hunger that are resonating in the makeshift tents of Gaza and reverberating like the hooting of owls in the eerie silence of the night. The situation is so dire that an aid worker of EuroMed Rights has reported that “children are telling their parents they want to go to heaven because at least heaven has food”. According to WHO and UNICEF, 4 out of 5 children are facing “catastrophic hunger levels”.

Meanwhile, in the West Bank where there is no Hamas, Palestinian erasure exhibits a different footprint. It is ethnic cleansing that is in action. At regular intervals, hordes of settlers raid Palestinian towns, descend into villages and create havoc and pandemonium. To force Palestinians to flee their land, they set fire to houses, burn vehicles, loot belongings and very often indulge in an orgy of violence. On 23–25 January 2026, for example, 300 settlers descended on the villages of Halawa and Farkheit and “torched homes and vehicles, vandalised properties” and assaulted the residents.

The violence is not limited to physical aggression only but also takes the form of economic warfare with a view to making life unlivable for Palestinians. A few days ago, a horde of settlers attacked Ein Samia neighbourhood, destroyed the water pumping station and cut off the water supply for some 100,000 Palestinians. On other occasions it is the wells and schoolhouses that are demolished, while most of the time it is the very means of livelihoods that are targeted.

On January 10, 2026, a group of settlers raided a farm in the town of Kobar, belonging to Thaer al Nabbah, assaulted him, tied him and stole 200 sheep. Such actions are regular occurrences. Sometimes the sheep are killed just for fun. B’Tselem, an Israeli NGO, has documented cases where settlers have killed the sheep in front of the owners and left the carcasses for the owners to whine over. 

Sometimes it is sheer sadism that animates the perpetrators. They derive pleasure from humiliating Palestinians, as the following incident reported by a shepherd in the Jordan Valley in late 2025 indicates: “They didn’t just take the land. They wanted to take our dignity. They held me down while one of the settlers urinated on my clothes and prayer mat. They laughed and told me ‘This is the only water you get now’. They want us to feel like we are less human so that we will be too ashamed to stay” (B’Tselem). According to this organization, in 80% of the cases, these atrocities take place in the presence of Israeli soldiers and with their tacit or active participation. This situation, according to OCHA, has resulted in the death of 1,112 civilians, including 230 children, the forced displacement of 40,000 residents of the West Bank and the arbitrary detention of 11,500 Palestinians. As for the settlers, most of the time they act with virtual impunity.

To crown it all, the Israeli Security Cabinet has just decided to facilitate the appropriation of lands in the West Bank while stripping the Palestinian Authority of much of its power in areas where it had full jurisdiction. The result, one can say, is a de facto annexation despite overall protest by the international community.

Azize Bankur