2022 has been marked by extreme aggression from Israeli forces in the West Bank, and across Occupied Palestine.
According to the United Nations, 122 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by Israeli forces between January and November of 2022, mostly in illegal nighttime raids on Palestinian cities and towns.
In the early hours of August 2, Israeli forces shot and killed one Palestinian minor in a late-night raid in the Jenin refugee camp. The Israeli forces also arrested Islamic Jihad commander, Bassam al-Saadi. Along with the arrest — in order to provoke a response and further intimidate locals — the Israeli forces also closed all crossings into Gaza, cutting off vital supplies, and deployed more soldiers.
On August 5 — without further warning — the Israeli government launched Operation Breaking Dawn, assassinating Islamic Jihad commander Taysser al-Jabari in an air strike on the Palestine Tower building in Gaza City. During the following three days, Israeli forces airstrikes killed 49 Palestinians in Gaza, including 16 children. 360 Palestinians were injured as well, 95 of them being children. Several were blinded or paralyzed.
The Israeli forces also assassinated Khaled Mansour, an Islamic Jihad commander in southern Gaza. Amnesty International later concluded in a report that during this second assault, 33 Palestinian civilians were killed by the Israeli forces. At least 1,750 housing units were damaged or destroyed before an Egyptian-mediated ceasefire went into effect in the late hours of August 7.
According to Islamic Jihad, the ceasefire agreement included provisions that Israel would release al-Saadi and the hunger-striking Palestinian prisoner, Khalil Awawdeh. Months later, these stipulations were still not fulfilled. Israel indicted al-Saadi on charges of membership, support, and activity in a terrorist organization on August 25 — he still remains in Israeli custody. Awawdeh suspended his hunger strike on August 31 after the Israeli regime agreed not to renew his administrative detention. However, as of November, Awawdeh has still not been released. His captors have accused him of obtaining a mobile phone while he was being treated at the Ramleh prison medical clinic.