'Voices of reason gaining strength: Most Israelis and Palestinians want an end to this madness'
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00:00Next, incursions by Israel's army left at least 10 people dead in the West Bank in
00:05places like Jenin, Tubas and Tulkan. It's the latest in a series of clashes that
00:10have risen sharply in the region since the start of Israel's bombardment of the
00:14Gaza Strip on October the 7th. But this time a multi-fronted offensive by
00:18Israel's army in the occupied West Bank has taken observers by surprise.
00:24I'm Issa Herbert with this. In Jenin on Wednesday, armoured Israeli vehicles
00:31drove the streets, blocking exit and entry points and access to hospitals
00:36according to local authorities. After a major Israeli military operation into
00:41the occupied West Bank overnight, which claimed multiple lives, this Palestinian
00:46Red Crescent paramedic responded to one of the scenes. Around 2 a.m. the army
00:52raided the refugee camp with a large number of soldiers on foot. They raided the
00:57camp from different areas. According to Palestinian health authorities, the
01:04operation took place in Jenin, Tulkan and Tubas. While Israeli incursions are an
01:09often daily occurrence, it is rare for them to be carried out simultaneously in
01:14several towns at once, as they were on Tuesday night. Israel's foreign minister
01:19claimed they raided the refugee camps in order to dismantle what he said were
01:22Iranian Islamic terror infrastructures. We must address this threat with the same
01:28determination used against terror infrastructures in Gaza, including
01:31temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents and any necessary measures.
01:35This is a war and we must win it. Israeli forces have been stepping up their
01:40operations in the north of the West Bank, where armed groups have been particularly
01:44active, radicalized by the frequent attacks by Jewish settlers on
01:48Palestinian communities. Since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, more than
01:53650 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, according to Palestinian
01:57Health Ministry, and at least 20 Israelis have died in clashes, according to
02:02Israeli officials. Eliza Herbert with that report. Let's get the analysis and
02:06welcome Avi Meierstein to the program, founder and president of the Alliance for
02:11Middle East Peace, joining us live from Washington DC. Avi, thanks for being with
02:15us. This Israeli army attack on the West Bank, what is your take on what is
02:20happening? Well, thanks for having me. I think this speaks to a very unstable
02:28situation that we've been watching, not just in the West Bank, to be honest, which
02:32has been boiling over for quite some time, but throughout the region, inside
02:37Israel, in Gaza, in the West Bank, on the northern borders. We've been seeing how
02:43just a week ago, everyone was holding their breath that there might be a
02:47hostage deal that seemed so close. A few days later, the entire region was on the
02:51razor's edge, fearing that there might be a massive escalation coming out of
02:56Lebanon. And now we see this West Bank situation really flare up with a set of
03:04raids from air and ground that seem to be a peak beyond what we've seen in many
03:10years. A peak beyond what we've seen in many years. Many people surprised by the
03:15fact that three places were hit. And of course, at least 10 people killed. I
03:23think people who might have been focused on on Gaza, perhaps, or other parts in
03:28the world might have been surprised. But people that I talked to in the West Bank
03:31have been very concerned about the situation for the entirety of this war,
03:36and frankly, even before it, because of the situation there, which has only been
03:41exacerbated by the war. But it's a very difficult economic situation. Of course,
03:48people are terribly upset about the course of the war and all the people that
03:52have been killed in Gaza. And it's created perhaps an opening for groups
03:58that are trying to mobilize against Israel. And likewise, for Israel to seek
04:05the opportunity to go in and pursue these raids against those armed groups.
04:11Indeed, I hear what you're saying completely. The Israeli authorities, I've
04:15heard Yav Galant in particular, referred to the West Bank as Judea and Samaria,
04:19just to sort of give people some of the wider vocabulary that's being used. The
04:23US has today introduced sanctions on two Jewish settler organizations. Is this
04:30in some way a change in attitude from the US authorities?
04:36I think it's a continuation more than a change. This is something that's been
04:40going on for the last year or two, in little drips and drabs as the US has
04:46leaned in more. Because the Israeli government, as currently constituted
04:51with real far-right elements in it, have been giving cover to a lot of these
04:59settler extremists. We saw just a week or so ago the additional pogrom, as many
05:05have described it, with over 100 settlers who attacked the village of Jit. It was a
05:12deadly attack, a Palestinian was killed, and the Israeli army on the ground was
05:19somewhere between helpless or not intervening nearly enough. This is a real
05:25problem that's developed. There aren't that many tools in the toolbox for the US
05:30administration if they want to continue to support Israel's defense at the larger
05:36scale. I think in order to address this particular issue, they're trying to go
05:41after sanctions of these individuals who are supporting the settler movement,
05:46including supporting expanding it as they try to seize more land and realize
05:51their dream of annexing the West Bank to be part of Israel.
05:55Indeed, that has been a continuation, as you say, and regardless of what is said
05:59by the White House or any other allies, that settler philosophy continues. The
06:06fact remains, though, that right now in the Middle East, a truce is very much
06:10less likely than further escalation. The bombardment continues in the Gaza Strip.
06:14There's still things happening on the northern border with Lebanon, with
06:18Hezbollah. And now this issue in the West Bank, which you say is part of
06:21something that was already happening, but it appears to be now getting worse.
06:25So we're in a situation here where escalation is purely and simply the only
06:29way forward, isn't it? Which is very scary.
06:32I don't think escalation is the only way forward. It certainly has a
06:36significant amount of momentum and there's zero margin for error. And we've
06:41been in that situation for many months now. The weekend events that almost
06:45boiled over in the north into a massive escalation are just the latest example.
06:50But there are choices to be made. And everyone, the international community,
06:54as well as Israelis and Palestinians and their leaders, are making choices
06:57every day. And I think it's worth noting in that vein that the voices of reason
07:02have been gaining strength in the last weeks and months. Most Israelis and
07:06Palestinians want an end to this madness. That's what they've been
07:09saying. And they've been taking action. Just in the last few days, tens of
07:14thousands of Palestinians and Jewish Israelis mobilized together to organize
07:19about 450 trucks full of aid to go to Gaza. We saw last month the largest peace
07:26demonstration in Israel in 20 years. And there have been voices breaking through
07:31in Gaza who've been critical of Hamas more publicly and calling for an end to
07:36the war. So I think we're starting to see a significant move by lots of people
07:42on the ground, whose interests are all aligned in bringing this to an end. And I
07:47think the message coming through is pretty clear that we we must stop the
07:51bleeding. And when we do, we can't tolerate allowing this status quo to
07:55continue. We can't continue managing the conflict. We have to urgently pivot
08:01towards resolving it.
08:03Wise words. I'm clinging to what you said that the voices of reason are
08:06gaining strength. That gives people hope that something can be resolved and be
08:10resolved soon. Avi Meyerstein, founder and president of the Alliance for Middle
08:14East Peace, joining us live from Washington. Thank you very much indeed
08:17for being with us here on France 24. We appreciate your time and your very
08:20succinct analysis.