A look at what's happening in the West Bank as all eyes are on Gaza
Hello from the Armenian quarter in Jerusalem’s old city,
For the past week I’ve been staying in Jerusalem’s old city which feels like a return to the Covid-era of deserted streets and shuttered stores. The conflict has hit business hard in the old city where poverty rates are already high. Still the storeowners offer free biscuits with my pomegranate juice or tea while I sit on a bench and eat a manouche - (Arabic flat bread that was unexpectedly hard to find in even the old city’s Arab quarter.)
For the past week, I’ve been reporting on the wave of Israeli military and settler violence reaching across the West Bank. You can read my reporting on the violent day that pushed a Palestinian Bedouin community who’d been receiving support from Ireland to leave their home in Wadi a-Seeq. And you can read about a community in the South Hebron Hills that’s refusing to leave and which represents Palestinian “summud” - a term for stubborn perseverance - here.
Last night, I attended a vigil at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s old city for hostages held in Gaza which now we believe includes 8-year-old Irish Israeli girl Emily Hand. I’ve also provided some analysis here on the Emily Hand case: how was she mistakenly believed to be dead? What was Ireland talking to Iran about her case?
I also spoke with Monocle about Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and the backlash he’s facing in Israel.
Some other articles that I think are worth reading are
A deadly cascade: how secret Hamas attack orders were passed down at last minute
If you’re looking to follow more balanced Israeli reporting, Hagar Shezaf who writes for Haaretz is great and covers the West Bank.
I’ve included some photos from the past three weeks below.
Peace & love,
Hannah
A woman praying at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s old city during a vigil for the some 240 hostages held in Gaza.
Alia Mlehat, 27, from al-Mu’arrajat whose community is currently under threat of displacement.
Israeli clown Az-Oolay greets three Israeli soldiers who arrive at Susiya. She's staying as a form of protective presence.
“A ceasefire isn't a very popular position among the Israeli public right now,” says Yahli Agai, 28.
A man comforts another man at a rally in Tel Aviv organised by relatives of the hostages.
A protestor outside the residence of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem calling him a “Crime Minister.”