The daily, grinding violence in the West Bank is worse than ever before. Why does it go unseen? | Layth Hanbali

The Israeli government is stripping away our freedoms - economic, physical, even the ability to celebrate. Yet the world looks away

In the eyes of the world, there seem to be two kinds of violence against the Palestinian people. There are the genocidal horrors that have been unfolding in Gaza, in which Israel is erasing families, neighbourhoods and livelihoods. Then there is the other kind: the violence that Palestinians have been subjected to since the 1948 Nakba, overlooked and barely commented upon.

Violence in the West Bank always seems to be placed into the second category, no matter how extreme. Yet in recent weeks, we have seen a marked escalation from Israel. Politicians seem to have decided they have free rein while this latest war plays out and all eyes are on Gaza. But look at the West Bank and you will see the actions of an increasingly totalitarian regime that is detaining Palestinians without charge, torturing prisoners and limiting physical and economic freedom in order to consolidate settler dominance.

Layth Hanbali is a health researcher working independently and at Birzeit University in Ramallah, Palestine

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