Daccanomics
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has warned that Israeli forces are opening a new front in the occupied West Bank, aiming to turn it into a “new Gaza.” Speaking to the Arab League in Cairo, Borrell said Israel is escalating violence in the West Bank, undermining the Palestinian Authority, and provoking reactions that lead to more forceful measures.
Borrell cautioned that if the international community doesn’t act, the West Bank will face a similar fate as Gaza, as settlers push for new settlements and military actions intensify. He also accused radical elements in the Israeli government of making it impossible to establish a future Palestinian state, emphasizing that some Israeli ministers are openly calling for military escalation in the region.
The situation in the West Bank has already led to dozens of Palestinian deaths, as Israeli forces recently carried out their largest military operation there in two decades. Since the start of the Gaza war on October 7, Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 662 Palestinians in the West Bank. Rights groups have warned that the tactics being used resemble those seen in Gaza, with 2023 witnessing a record number of settler attacks and a surge in settlement-building permits.
