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Palestinian militants ‘ready to die’ as prospect of all-out war increases after West Bank clashes | World News


The alleys running inside the Balata refugee camp are narrow, stuffy and full of uncollected garbage.

Posters commemorating the dead warriors were plastered on the wall. Children are everywhere – more than half of the camp’s population is under the age of 25.

We were escorted to meet fighters from the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, one of the largest and oldest militant groups on the West Bank.

They are a terrorist group banned by IsraeliEU and US, but not UK.

Out front, I turn a corner and there they are – all dressed in black, armed with M16 assault rifles and full face veils.

They are young men, armed with powerful weapons and say they are ready to die to protect their land.

We introduced and then moved down another alley – an Israeli army observation post on the hill above us; Snipers track every move in the camp below.

“We are witnessing an escalation of [Israeli] occupation forces throughout the camps in West Bankespecially in Jenin and Balata,” one warrior told me.

“Most of the operations are carried out by Israeli special forces. Yesterday, two of our men were killed in clashes as they entered the camp.”

The warriors are relaxed. This is their stronghold.

CCTV seems to be everywhere, they joke that it’s like in Paris or London; The militia has its own reconnaissance unit that monitors secret Israeli special forces entering the camp.

Violent clashes have become more frequent in recent months – 2022 being the deadliest year since 2005 and 2023, just a few weeks old, still more dangerous.

After nine Palestinians, mainly fighters, were killed in an Israeli counter-terrorism raid on Thursday, the prospect of another all-out war is drawing closer.

One of the dead was a 61-year-old woman, Magda Obaid, caught in the crossfire.

The IDF said it was investigating her death, but the list of unexplained civilian deaths is growing.

“I think that due to the policies of the right-wing Israeli government, there will be an escalation in the West Bank,” predicted the fighter from the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade.

Ibrahim Ramadan, governor of Nablus
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Ibrahim Ramadan, governor of Nablus, says people ‘have no hope’
Posters in the old city
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A poster of dead warriors hangs above a fruit and vegetable stall

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Speaking of a new uprising, a third intifada, which has been under constant threat in recent years, is emerging again.

“I think there is an intifada coming,” Ibrahim Ramadan, governor of Nablus told me.

“Why? There isn’t any hope among my people. Palestinians need hope, little hope for their freedom.”

The deputy mayor of Nablus, Dr. Husam Shakhshiris, is more optimistic but equally outspoken in his assessment of the current situation.

“It [Nablus] occupied by the state of Israel. The Israeli army enters the city every day,” he said.

“We have two military camps on top [of the surrounding hills]we have seven settlements around Nablus that are connected by bus lines and it was very easy for the Israelis to close the city and prevent movement in and out of the city.”

As we walked around the city together, Dr. Husam was clearly a celebrity. Residents stopped to greet him.

Unlike the warriors we met, he had the wisdom of his age, thoughtful and deliberate in his words, but no less cursed for Israel.

“How bad is it?” I asked him.

Dr. Husam Shakhshiris
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The deputy mayor of Nablus says that the current situation is the worst he has ever seen

“This is terrible. I’ve always seen in the past that there was hope for a peaceful, two-state solution to be worked out, especially after the Oslo incident,” Dr. Husam said.

“Now we don’t see this hope, we don’t see a peaceful solution, and we’re stuck in these contours created by the policies of the state of Israel. They don’t see or recognize it. our right to self-determination.

“It was the worst situation of my life.”

Violence in Israel and the West Bank is cyclical.

Right now, any prospect of peace negotiations, or even a two-state solution, feels very remote.

Neither side is in the mood to talk or compromise, and so for many Palestinians, fighting seems to be the only path to more freedom.

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