In the West Bank, but also for Palestinians living in Israel, the situation deteriorated even before October 7, 2023. The genocidal war in Gaza, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives, has partially masked this intensified and large-scale ethnic cleansing. The project currently underway is that of Greater Israel, stretching from the sea to the Jordan River, with the complicity of the United States and the complicit silence of European countries, including France. The aim is, in effect, to expel all Palestinians from the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza.[1]
Verveine, you went to the West Bank with a delegation from the Solidaires trade union at the end of January 2026. Can you tell us about the context of your trip and who you met?
The Solidaires trade union has long been involved in solidarity with Palestine, for example in the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) campaign, and has also forged direct links with independent Palestinian trade unions. Independent, meaning independent of the Palestinian Authority as well as, of course, of the Israeli occupation forces. We have never had any connection with the Histadrut, the Israeli trade union that, even before 1948, was dedicated to promoting "Jewish labor" in Palestine and continues to do so.
Several delegations have visited the West Bank in the past, and we decided to return knowing that union activists, as well as those working in associations and NGOs-some of which have been declared terrorist organizations by Israel-are in a difficult situation and are seeking concrete contact.
How is life organized for the population in the villages and camps, and what has changed since your last visit? Can they still work in Israel?
The situation has worsened considerably since our visit in 2019. To be precise: there were 170,000 Palestinians working in Israel before October 7th; now 10,000 have permits, and 30,000 work clandestinely.[2]Crossing the wall clandestinely involves very significant risks for people, primarily men; there are deaths, serious injuries, and imprisonments. The revocation of these permits represents a considerable loss for the local economy in the West Bank.
Furthermore, Israel now withholds 62% of the Palestinian Authority's budget, which consists of VAT revenue. This means that workers employed by the Palestinian Authority are not being paid in full. Teachers and postal workers, for example, work only three days out of five. This also means that children attend school only three days out of five, and that the Palestinian economy and society, already severely hampered by settlement activity, are operating at a reduced capacity. Added to this situation is the pressure Israel is exerting on international NGOs to force them to leave the country, resulting in further job losses, which compound the impact of their departure on humanitarian aid, support for economic and social projects, education, and healthcare.
The situation in the camps is extremely difficult because Israel, in its pursuit of total annexation of the West Bank, wants to eliminate them. These camps symbolically and concretely represent the spirit and enduring nature of resistance to the occupation and settlements. The camps in the northern West Bank are facing devastating attacks: military operations and the destruction of homes with bulldozers. This is also the meaning behind the Israeli-American attacks against UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees since 1949, which is responsible for schools for children up to age nine and healthcare centers in the camps. Living conditions in these camps, which are veritable cities, are therefore severely threatened. This is also the case for the people who contribute to their social life: community committees, youth center leaders, and those involved in cultural and sports clubs, who are currently victims of particularly harsh repression and imprisonment.
We have a context where people are refugees once, twice, or more. Those expelled from the camps must take refuge in villages, with relatives, or in schools. One form of solidarity practiced by independent unions is providing material support in the form of food baskets to their unemployed members and also to refugees in the camps.
Settlers are becoming increasingly aggressive and offensive in their attempts to seize land, with the support of the army and the government. Have you witnessed these abuses?
We did not witness direct operations by settlers and the army because our interviewees are in cities and areas that are currently less affected, but that doesn't mean they aren't. Even Ramallah is regularly targeted by incursions. But we saw the extent of the Israeli presence in Jerusalem and Hebron, the settlements under construction on the hills and along the roads leading to the northern West Bank. Settlers plant Israeli flags whenever they can. They are marking their territory. Furthermore, the proliferation of checkpoints and mobile roadblocks makes life easier for settlers, since many roads are blocked before 9:00 a.m. and after 4:00 p.m. to allow settlers to get to work. Palestinians have to wait, arrive several hours late, or not arrive at all, at the obvious risk of losing their jobs.
There are also the archaeological sites. Archaeology is a weapon against Palestinians in the West Bank, as new measures have recently been enacted to allow the Israeli state to appropriate the land if excavations are permitted.
Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli army has been committing genocide in Gaza. But how should we describe what is happening in the West Bank and East Jerusalem?
Our interlocutors, with whom we spoke in English, used the term "ongoing Nakba." It's a widely used term. It means that the Nakba, the "catastrophe" of the expulsion of 800,000 Palestinians between 1948 and 1949, has not ended. An organization we met called Badil documents this precisely, not only by tracking the number of refugees but also by showing all the methods of expulsion: the destruction of villages and individual homes, the deprivation of property rights and residency rights... This is also what the "Decolonizer" center in Israel was doing with a map showing villages destroyed at different times, in successive waves since 1948. Of course, the situation has deteriorated considerably since October 7th; for example, the number of housing units authorized for construction by Israel has quadrupled between 2017 and 2022 and is projected to increase by 2025[3]. Israel has an opportunistic approach, meaning that its leaders throughout history and across all governments have seized opportunities to expand settlements. And we can clearly sense today the further step that has been taken, the idea also being to completely break free from the Oslo Accords, whatever one may think of them.
What bonds of solidarity remain between Gaza and the West Bank? How are the people we met organizing themselves? Is resistance possible? Is there a message of hope?
Many organizations existed and still exist in these two parts of Palestine. Obviously, the genocide and the massive destruction of Gazan society have made the existence of organizations in Gaza difficult. But links remain with the oldest and most established organizations: this is the case with the Palestinian Journalists' Union (PJS), the Palestinian Farmers' Union (UAWC), and the Workers' Rights Council (DWRC), and undoubtedly others as well. The Palestinians we met do not speak of hope in the sense of a path or paths that would allow us to consider political solutions. Their hope is that solidarity from abroad-mobilizations in the United States, for example, and the BDS movement-might one day influence the situation. There is more than just distrust of Western leaders; there is genuine anger and a feeling of abandonment. Faced with this, the demand for solidarity from civil society, unions, and associations is immense.
We must also remember that there was Covid before, and all of this weighs heavily on the feeling of isolation. But despair, isolation, and anger do not mean giving up. "This is our land" is a recurring theme.
Upon returning, we want to share their experiences but also to build strong links between professional unions at the sectoral level, as has been requested of us and as already exists, for example, between the postal workers' union and Sud PTT. We want to encourage delegations of all kinds to go back there. They need to see people, to feel tangible support.
Notes
[1]*The notes, introduction, and sidebar are by the Caen Journal Commission*
[2]Palestinian workers have been replaced by people from the Philippines, Sri Lanka, or Thailand.
[3]See Jean Stern's article on this subject in Orient XXI.
http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4689
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
