Ramallah- With the end of the year 2023, Palestine bid farewell to a year burdened with blood and destruction, in which the occupation committed the most horrific massacres and destroyed all aspects of life in the Gaza Strip, in addition to the continuation of murders and field executions in the West Bank.
The “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle last October 7 and the Israeli aggression that followed was the most prominent event this year, in addition to the Israeli incursions witnessed in the areas of the northern West Bank, especially the Jenin and Tulkarm camps and the Old City of Nablus, which left dozens of martyrs.
In contrast to field tension, the political level faced many complications. Including the failure to open a political path, and the financial hardship as a result of Israeli cuts, which led to a series of strikes that paralyzed vital sectors in the West Bank for months.
Highlights files
Below we present the most prominent files and events of 2023 in Palestine:
On January 5, the Israeli occupation released the dean of Palestinian prisoners, Karim Younis, from the village of Ara in the Territories of 1948 after 40 years of detention.
- The martyrdom of Khader Adnan
On May 2, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Authority announced the martyrdom of the perpetrator of individual strikes in Israeli prisons, prisoner Khader Adnan, on the 86th day of his hunger strike.
- Battle of the Free People’s Revenge
On May 9, occupation aircraft launched a series of raids on the Gaza Strip, which lasted 5 days and led to the death of 34 Palestinians, while the joint room of the Palestinian factions announced the bombing of the Israeli depths with missile bursts.
The Palestinian town of Huwwara, south of Nablus, was known this year for repeated settler attacks on it. On February 26, the town witnessed unprecedented attacks launched by settlers that resulted in the martyrdom of a Palestinian, the injury of dozens, and the burning and destruction of dozens of homes and cars. These attacks were repeated later.
The town also witnessed several Palestinian shooting operations, which led to the killing and wounding of a number of soldiers and settlers. In a statement that sparked international criticism, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for “wiping out the village.”
The city of Jenin and its camp remained a hotspot throughout 2023 due to the repetition of Israeli incursions more than 16 times, according to Israeli media, which led to the martyrdom of more than 150 Palestinians from Jenin and its camp (until December 20). This year, drone attacks and bombing of homes became prominent. in this area.
The most prominent assassinations were on July 3, during the “Battle of Bass Jenin,” where the occupation forces stormed the city and its camp, killing 13 Palestinians.
For years, the occupation has been pursuing members of the armed “Jenin Brigade,” which is made up of military personnel from various factions, most notably the Islamic Jihad movement.
Field escalation
- Nablus and Tulkarm
The cities of Nablus and Tulkarm witnessed a field escalation during 2023 due to repeated Israeli incursions to pursue members of the Lions’ Den Brigade, which had taken the Old City as its headquarters, and to pursue members of the “Tulkarm Brigade” stationed in Nour Shams camp.
While the raids led to the martyrdom of about 90 Palestinians in Nablus, and 65 martyrs in Tulkarm (as of December 20), including a large number who were targeted by drones. While the daily Israeli attacks by the occupation army and settlers on the areas occupied in 1967 (the West Bank and East Jerusalem) led to the martyrdom of more than 500 Palestinians.
- The first Saudi ambassador to Palestine
On August 12, the Saudi Ambassador to Jordan, Nayef bin Bandar Al-Sudairi, handed over a copy of his credentials as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Non-Resident to the State of Palestine and Consul General of the Kingdom in Jerusalem.
- “Al-Aqsa Flood”
At dawn on Saturday, October 7, the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip launched an operation called “Al-Aqsa Flood” against Israel, which included a land, sea and air attack, and the infiltration of the resistance into several settlements in the “Gaza envelope.”
The operation led to the death of approximately 1,200 Israeli soldiers and settlers, the wounding of approximately 5,431, and the capture of approximately 239, dozens of whom were exchanged for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, while the subsequent Israeli aggression on Gaza from October 7 to December 20 led to the death of 20. One thousand Palestinians, according to data from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 70% of whom are women and children, and more than 55 thousand were injured, most of whom were children and women as well.
- Siege and storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque
Since October 7, Al-Aqsa Mosque has been subjected to the most severe siege in a long time, as entry to pray in it was prohibited for those outside the Old City of Jerusalem, and restrictions were imposed on its entry for those inside the Old City.
As for settler incursions, on the other hand, they increased more than in any previous year, and the number of intruders among them reached 41,000 in the first nine months of this year, a number close to the number of intruders throughout 2022.
- Targeting journalists
During 2023, journalists were subjected to more than 224 attacks, with more than 90 journalists and media workers martyred, including Tel Aviv Tribune cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa, in a targeting of its crew in the southern Gaza Strip. The homes of 50 journalists were destroyed and 48 were arrested, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate and the government media office in the Gaza Strip.
Escalating attacks
Since the beginning of 2023, settlers have committed more than 2,270 attacks against Palestinians and their property, resulting in the martyrdom of at least 17 Palestinians, in addition to the demolition of more than 600 Palestinian homes and facilities, and the displacement of more than a thousand Palestinians, according to documentation by the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Affairs Authority.
- Crisis of financial authority
The financial crisis that the Palestinian Authority is suffering has continued for another year, and it continues to pay deficient salaries to government employees as a result of Israeli deductions from the Authority’s funds known as “clearance,” which are tax revenues from goods imported into the Palestinian Authority’s territory that Israel brings in their place at the crossings and ports, and which are estimated for the year 2022 only. About 650 million dollars.
With the outbreak of the aggression on Gaza, the crisis worsened again when Israel decided to deduct Gaza’s share of the “clearance”, estimated at about $140 million. When about 200,000 workers were prevented from going to their workplaces inside Israel, the market lost approximately $350 million per month.
- Demand strikes
As a result of the financial crisis, the year 2023 witnessed a series of union strikes and demands, most notably the strikes of teachers, doctors, and lawyers, which hindered the work of various sectors for several months, without some of them achieving their demands, such as the teachers’ strike that ousted the Minister of Education, Marwan Awartani.
In light of the hot events of 2023, what awaits the West Bank in 2024? Academic and political analyst Dr. Tayseer Amr answers that most of the 2023 files are subtitles for a central issue, which is the occupation’s aggression, and he expects an increase in the pace of escalation and attacks in 2024.
Amr told Tel Aviv Tribune Net that the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle is considered the most prominent event because for the first time it is a direct battle for “the Israeli people” with the real owners of the land, “which caused a shock that could shake the structure of the pillars of Israel’s existence, which may spark controversy within it among those who recognize it.” “And the rights of the Palestinian people will leave, and another will become more extremist.”
Amr expected that 2024 would be a tense year. “Most of the issues are still inflammatory and flammable, from the prisoners’ issue to the settlements, Jenin, and Nablus. There is no room for calm, and things are heading for escalation.”