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Palestinian activists gear up for another year of fighting

Jerusalem24 –  Israeli forces have killed four Palestinians, three of whom are minors, since the beginning of 2023.

Palestinian activists have been playing a key role in covering and shedding light on different cases where Israeli settlers and forces attack Palestinians and Palestinian properties, particularly as these attacks have been increasing in frequency and intensity throughout 2022.

Palestinian activist Jalal Abu Khater tells Jerusalem24 on Wake up Palestine that 2023 won’t be easier than 2022 under the new Israeli government, since “it is formed by extremist settlers who now dictate the policies.”

Abu Khater believes that 2023 will see more settlement expansion, settler violence, and targeting of Palestinian citizens.

“We’re only going to be seeing the demolition and curtailing of any Palestinian development in the West Bank,” says Abu Khater. “We’re going to witness the ethnic cleansing of large areas like Masafer Yatta, and perhaps Al-Khan Al-Ahmar… Israeli extremist MK Smotrich’s policy statement is to focus on legalizing illegal outposts in the West Bank.”

As a part of a volunteering initiative, Abu Khater and other activists help farmers access their lands during the olive harvest season out of fear of Israeli settler attacks.

Attacks by settlers are on high all year long, he explains, but “the intensity and number of attacks increase during the olive picking season.”

“We were assisting a farmer to access his lands and pick olives in Jibiya when we were attacked by armed Israeli settlers, who set up an outpost a few years back around the hill where the plot of land is. They harassed us, attacked our cars. I injured myself while escaping them.”

2022 has been recorded as the deadliest year for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank including East Jerusalem since the Second Intifada with 170 killed by the Israeli military, settlers, or as a result of Israeli military or state intervention, including 39 children.

“The rules for opening fire are indiscriminate, any Palestinian child is a target of Israeli soldiers. Regardless of whether they throw a rock, or if they’re running away for their lives, or just walking to school – if they’re at the wrong place at the wrong time, they would get shot and killed with no consequence to the killers.”

Listen to the full interview on Wake Up Palestine.

Nadeen Alshaer

Alshaer is a Palestinian journalist, a Birzeit University graduate with a B.A. in TV and Radio Broadcasting Journalism. Alshaer has 6 years of experience in journalism. She currently works as a reporter, editor and presenter/producer for PBC-Palestine TV and Jerusalem24 radio. She’s a UN and Kelley School of Business alumna.

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