The Israeli attack on refugee camps in the occupied West Bank is making headlines.
Israel has killed at least 20 people since it launched attacks on the cities and refugee camps of Jenin, Nablus, Tubas and Tulkarem on Wednesday night.
Here’s what you need to know about the attack and the refugee camps in occupied territory it impacts.
What is the occupied West Bank? Who are the refugees living there?
The occupied West Bank is part of historic Palestine on the west bank of the Jordan River. It measures 5,650 km² (2,180 sq mi) of landlocked territory surrounded by Israel, Jordan and the Dead Sea.
About three million Palestinians live there, alongside a growing number of Israelis who have built illegal settlements and outposts on land forcibly taken from Palestinian families.
The West Bank is home to some 871,000 registered refugees, a quarter of whom live in 19 refugee camps, descendants of Palestinians ethnically expelled from their homes and lands to make way for the creation of Israel in the 1948 Nakba.
What does this have to do with Gaza?
The occupied West Bank and Gaza are both part of Palestine but are separated from each other by the State of Israel.
Gaza and the West Bank were occupied by Israel in 1967 and remained so for decades, until Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005.
Israel continues to attack Gaza, killing more than 40,000 people and injuring nearly 100,000 others.
The tactics used by Israel in Gaza have been cited by some Israeli ministers who have demanded that the same be done in attacks in the occupied West Bank, including forcing people from their homes to evacuate certain areas.
What does it mean that the West Bank is “occupied”?
In the 1967 war, Israel took from interim Jordan land designated by the UN as part of a future Palestinian state.
Even with the establishment of the Palestinian Authority after the Oslo Accords, the Israeli military operates unchecked and effectively controls the territory and continues to control several essential administrative and governmental functions.
Ultimately, Palestinians don’t even control their own land.
In theory, the limits of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank should be regulated by international law.
Under the 1949 Geneva Convention, the transfer of all or part of an occupying population to territory it has seized – such as the construction of settlements by Israelis on Palestinian land – is illegal.
In 2004 and 2016 respectively, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the UN Security Council declared Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank to be illegal.
In July this year, the ICJ again ruled that Israel’s presence in the West Bank was illegal and must end “as soon as possible.”
So, is the construction of new colonies finished?
No way.
Although settlement construction was relatively slow until the 1980s, it has grown significantly since then, with hundreds of new settlements and outposts being established.
Before October 7, more than 700,000 Israelis lived in the West Bank, in more than 150 illegal settlements and numerous outposts.
The numbers increased dramatically after October 7.
According to Israel, the settlements are necessary for security, as they serve as a buffer against hostile Arab states, in addition to Iran.
Israel also claims that the Oslo Accords do not explicitly prohibit settlements in all areas and that some are permitted under the terms of the agreement.
Israeli settlers also claim the biblical Jewish territories of Samaria and Judea, both in the present-day West Bank, using religious justifications to seize Palestinian land.
How have Palestinians in the West Bank responded to the occupation?
In short, with resistance and anger.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed during Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.
Displacement, dispossession, lack of rights, economic hardship and military control over daily life have fueled Palestinian anger.
However, it is the systematic and ongoing confiscation of land for the construction of Israeli settlements that has sparked the most outrage.
Did the Palestinians revolt?
There have been two Intifadas (uprisings) against the Israeli occupation.
The first Intifada, from 1987 to 1993, began with protests and demonstrations, including stone throwing and acts of civil disobedience, before escalating into widespread revolt.
Israel’s military response – curfews, mass arrests, use of live ammunition and tear gas – has worsened the situation and drawn international criticism.
Israel killed about 1,000 Palestinians, including about 250 children. 160 Israelis were killed in the fighting.
The second intifada, from 2000 to 2005, was sparked by then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s provocative visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
The protests and stone-throwing quickly escalated into violence, as Israel responded with overwhelming force.
About 3,000 Palestinians and more than 1,000 Israelis, as well as 64 foreign nationals, were killed.
Israel’s response – large-scale military operations, targeted assassinations and large-scale incursions – has been heavily criticized by international bodies and human rights groups.
What is life like in the West Bank today?
In a word, “difficult.” Sometimes it seems impossible.
Checkpoints and other movement restrictions are part of the daily challenges affecting every Palestinian in the West Bank.
In refugee camps, overcrowding and lack of infrastructure compound the difficulties faced by families whose homes often exist beyond living memory.
Israel’s separation barrier, which has encircled much of the West Bank since its construction began in 2002, limits Palestinians’ access to resources and jobs.
The separation wall was ruled illegal by the ICJ in 2019 and has been cited as evidence of Israeli apartheid policies by human rights groups around the world.