"The demolition of homes and uprooting of olive trees are visible. But damage behind the scenes goes deeper... " Rocketing violence and an economic chokehold have been overshadowed by conflict elsewhere, but the UK and others must stop looking away

 The Guardian view on Israel and the West Bank: allies must protect Palestinian lives and livelihoods

Editorial

 

Protesters and Palestinian landowners who say some of their land was taken for Mount Tarousa settlement run from tear gas fired by Israeli forces on 19 June 2026. Photograph: Hazem Bader/AFP/Getty Images

Opinion 

Palestine

Sun 21 Jun 2026 12.30 EDT

The “ceasefire” in Gaza is a “cruel and deadly illusion”, warned James Elder, the Unicef spokesman, on Friday. Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians since its declaration in October, says the Gaza health ministry, including 265 children – an average of one a day.

The killings and broader humanitarian crisis have been overshadowed by the war on Iran and have diverted attention from escalating violence in the occupied West Bank. Last week, former Israeli prime ministers, military chiefs and heads of security services were among the signatories of a letter accusing its government of “doing nothing to eradicate Jewish terror” there. Ehud Olmert, one of the former prime ministers, accused Israel of “an organized, systematic, state-funded campaign of ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity”, with security forces assisting settler violence. Meanwhile, the army chief has reportedly described troops “killing like we haven’t killed since 1967”.

But a report from the International Crisis Group points to another dangerous development: the relentless campaign pushing the West Bank’s economy towards collapse. That does not only hurt individuals and families. Without a functioning economy, there can be no Palestinian state. As the report warns: “The economic conditions necessary for any Palestinian future other than permanent subjugation are being dismantled.” Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister and head of a far-right pro-settler party, has said that he wants to bury the idea of Palestinian statehood and promised “economic strangulation”.

Since 1967, Israel’s controls on the West Bank have prevented it from developing an autonomous, functioning economy. The chokehold tightened dramatically after the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023. The Palestinian economy saw real GDP shrink from $17.8bn to $13.7bn in 2024. Almost 300,000 Palestinians lost jobs in the West Bank and Israel.... READ MORE  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/21/the-guardian-view-on-israel-and-the-west-bank-allies-must-protect-palestinian-lives-and-livelihoods

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