In the West Bank, Israel continues its collective punishment of Palestinians
For two-year-old Layla Khateeb, there was no time for goodbyes — just a sniper’s bullet to the head as her family scrambled for cover during an Israeli military raid on Muthallath Al-Shuhada village in the occupied West Bank on 25 January.
Khateeb was killed during operation ‘Iron Wall’ – an Israeli military campaign launched just two days after the Gaza ceasefire was announced on 15 January. Airstrikes and ground incursions in the name of 'counterterrorism' have resulted in a worsening humanitarian disaster, widespread destruction and civilian casualties across the West Bank.
Israeli military operations have primarily focused on the northern West Bank, particularly Jenin and Tulkarm. But the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have also targeted central locations like Ramallah and southern areas such as Hebron and Bethlehem. On Sunday 2 February, 73-year-old Wadi Lahlouh was shot dead by Israeli forces in Jenin. That same day, 23 buildings in the densely populated Jenin refugee camp were demolished, adding to the over 100 homes already destroyed or burned in the area.
Checkpoints and roadblocks now slice through villages, strangling economic life and isolating Palestinian communities. Ammar Dwaik, the director of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights tells New Internationalist that there are now 900 military checkpoints and gates, with 17 new iron gates constructed since the start of the year. Palestinian journalist Lou’y Alsaeed says that in Jenin alone, around 100 additional checkpoints were constructed in December, where soldiers conduct arbitrary vehicle searches using biometric scanners and facial recognition systems.
Jenin, one of the West Bank’s poorest and most densely populated areas, is home to over 22,000 refugees. Mayor Mohammad Jarrar says the destruction has made parts of the refugee camp unliveable, with up to 40 percent of neighbourhoods without water. Schools and clinics are closed, and hospitals lack essential medical supplies due to the Israeli blockade.
Residents are being held at makeshift interrogation centres, with reports of Israeli soldiers confiscating Palestinian IDs, withholding medical aid, and carrying out field executions. Palestinians are being detained without formal charges or access to legal support before being transferred to administrative detention. The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) has reported 380 detentions in the West Bank since 15 January, many of whom remain in custody where they reportedly experience severe beatings and abuse.
In one incident at Jenin Governmental Hospital in late January, Israeli forces detained around 600 patients, staff, and visitors, subjecting them to hours of interrogation. ‘They treated the hospital like a military base,’ said a surgeon who witnessed the raid.
As Palestinians start to return to their destroyed homes in northern Gaza, Israel continues to carry out collective punishment against Palestinians in the West Bank, where over 15,000 people have been displaced since early 2025.