With Gaza population already displaced, some fear Israel has similar plans for West Bank

With Gaza population already displaced, some fear Israel has similar plans for West Bank

As Israeli tanks and troops stormed into Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank this week — one of the largest such military operations in years — a comment by the country’s foreign minister reverberated loudly across the region.

Israel should resort to the “temporary evacuation” of Palestinian residents from the West Bank, if need be, to facilitate the fight against terrorism, Israel Katz wrote on social media, as Israeli bulldozers dug up roads, destroyed buildings and left a trail of destruction behind them.

For many, it raised the spectre that Israel might be adapting the kind of scorched-earth tactics it has employed for almost a year in Gaza to the more populous and politically sensitive West Bank.

And that forcing West Bank Palestinians out of their homes might be the first stage in pushing them out permanently.

“The Israeli major military operation in the occupied West Bank must not constitute the premises of a war extension from Gaza, including full-scale destruction,” Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, responded.

Other veteran observers of the decades-long conflict concurred.

“It looks very much like Israel is not only not ending the war in Gaza, but they’re expanding it to the West Bank,” Khalid Elgindy, a fellow with the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C., told CBC News.

Most of the 2.3 million people in Gaza have been driven from their homes by Israel’s military and forced to live in tents in filthy conditions, creating a public health disaster that has allowed diseases such as polio to fester.

Gaza health authorities say more than 40,000 people have been killed since Israel’s assault began last October, with tens of thousands more wounded.

As of Thursday, at least 17 Palestinian civilians and combatants have been reportedly killed in the recent West Bank raids, including a leader of Islamic Jihad in Tulkarem.

Israeli settlers have gained political power

Israel claims the assaults on West Bank cities such as Tulkarem, Jenin and Nablus were aimed at preventing imminent attacks on Israelis, and that the militants purportedly responsible are being funded and supported by Iran.  

This week’s raids came roughly 10 days after a man with a bomb blew himself up in Tel Aviv, in what the Palestinian militant group Hamas later acknowledged was a failed attack by a suicide bomber.

Katz, the Israeli foreign minister, accused Iran’s leaders of supporting a “terror front” against Israel.

While Israel’s military thrust into the West Bank has been on a much smaller scale than the one in Gaza, there are more than 270 Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

In July, the International Criminal Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered a landmark ruling in which it said Israel’s 57-year occupation of the West Bank is illegal, that its settlement policies violate international law and that existing settlements should be removed.

Israel took control of the Palestinian territories following the 1967 war, and the Israeli government has repeatedly refused international calls to negotiate the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Indeed, many ultranationalist Jewish Israelis, especially members of the settler movement, have openly flaunted their goal of fully annexing the West Bank — which they refer to by an ancient Biblical name, Judea and Samaria — and either expelling Palestinians who live there or otherwise making them leave.

Under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the settler movement has grown politically powerful, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich acting as the de facto governor of the Israeli settlements.  

Crucially, Netanyahu’s governing coalition has relied on the support of Israel’s far-right parties to stay in power.

Settler violence increasing

The human rights group Peace Now says settlement building has surged, with 28 new Jewish communities established on Palestinian land last year, and another 16 so far in 2024.

The settler population in the West Bank has grown to more than 478,000, with an additional 229,000 in occupied East Jerusalem, a three-fold increase in just 20 years.

Elgindy says while Netanyahu has ultimate authority, ministers such as Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir are driving Israeli policy in the West Bank, and that their aims are clear.

“[Smotrich and Ben Gvir] would like nothing more … than to remove the Palestinian population from large swaths of the West Bank,” said Elgindy.

“Whether this operation is going to lead to that, we don’t know. But it’s definitely, I think, a cause for alarm.”

Tahani Mustafa, a senior Palestine analyst with the International Crisis Group, said this week’s military assaults amount to an “acceleration” of a pattern of violence that had become a feature of Israel’s government long before the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7,  which killed 1,200 people in Israel.

“The situation has incredibly deteriorated and the violent trends have gotten worse, in terms of the uptick in violence, the search-and-arrest operations, the attempted land grabs and making life unbearable for residents of the West Bank,” Mustafa said in an interview from Amman, Jordan.

More than 600 Palestinians killed in West Bank since October: UN

The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that between Oct. 7, 2023, and Aug. 19, 2024, 607 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank, including in East Jerusalem. That number includes 589 who were killed by Israeli forces and 11 by Israeli settlers.   

In that same period, 15 Israelis, including five settlers, were killed by Palestinians. 

OCHA says over the same 10 months, Israeli authorities demolished more than 1,400 Palestinian homes and other structures across the West Bank, which is more than double compared with the same period before Oct. 7. 

While the leaders of some settler movements have been slapped with foreign sanctions, so far, the United States, Canada and European nations have not imposed any penalties on the Israeli cabinet ministers most responsible for the expansions.

“The international community has not put any red lines on Israel,” said Mustafa.

Israel’s government has accused Iran of stepping up financial support for militant groups in the West Bank, as well as of arming them, but has not provided evidence.

“There is some level of truth [to this claim], in the sense that Iran is one of the largest financial backers of these groups, but that sort of misses the entire contextual rationale for why these groups have popped up and why they have gained momentum,” said Mustafa.

The reason these groups exist isn’t to serve Iran’s interests, but rather the desperate situation people face at home, she says.

“These groups do not have a serious political agenda other than fighting the [Israeli] occupation,” said Mustafa.

Risk of radicalizing more Palestinians

She says rather than eliminating or severely weakening these groups, Israel’s military action this week will likely have the opposite effect. 

“If anything, you are going to radicalize more Palestinians.”

This also seems to be the view of some in Israel’s security services, as the desperation in the West Bank mounts.

Ronan Bar, the top commander of Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, published an open letter to Netanyahu in the aftermath of a succession of settler attacks on Palestinian communities in the West Bank, warning that “Jewish terrorism” is endangering the country’s existence.

“The damage to Israel … is indescribable,” Bar wrote, claiming the perils include “delegitimization” in the eyes of the international community, and that the actions of settlers could serve as a recruitment tool in the occupied West Bank for Palestinians seeking revenge.

Elgindy predicts that in the absence of substantial pressure from Israel’s allies — especially the United States — to pull back, Israeli raids into the West Bank will increase.

“If things continue on their current trajectories, then we’re going to see more and bigger operations like what we saw overnight in the West Bank — and we’re going to probably also see more armed resistance by Palestinian groups.”

Published at Fri, 30 Aug 2024 17:32:15 +0000

A virus spread by tiny insects is on the rise in Brazil and Cuba. Here’s how to protect yourself

Canadians flying to popular locales like Cuba are being warned to take precautions against insects that spread the rare and potentially deadly Oropouche virus, also called Oropouche fever.

This week, U.S. officials announced 21 cases of Oropouche virus disease among travellers returning from Cuba as of Aug. 16. Most got better without treatment, while three patients recovered after hospitalization.

The virus is most commonly spread through bites from some types of midges (and some mosquitoes) that are not found in Canada. 

But doctors here are asked to watch for infections in returning travellers. While Oropouche virus disease has previously been found to circulate in Central and South America as well as in the Caribbean, this year’s cases have been higher than expected, with human infections reported in places they haven’t been detected before, in new areas of Brazil, Bolivia and Cuba.

It’s unclear how the virus impacts the health of a fetus, and precautions are recommended during pregnancy. 

“It’s generally historically been reported as fairly mild, but with some of this emerging data around neurologic complications and even fatality — it’s something that needs to be watched,” said Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious diseases physician and associate professor of medicine at McMaster University who has tropical medicine training.

“These are areas of the world where Canadians visit, and even though there’s not local circulation [in mosquitoes], it still means that travellers are going to have to be assessed for this as they return,” Chagla said.

Here’s a look at the illness that’s sparked updated travel health alerts in Canada, the U.S. and Europe.

What is Oropouche virus?

Oropouche virus is endemic or naturally occurring in forested tropical areas. It was first identified in 1955 on the island of Trinidad and takes its name from a nearby village and wetlands.

It has sometimes been called sloth fever, since it was first detected in Brazil from a blood sample taken from the animal.

How does it spread?

The Oropouche virus is mainly spread through the bite of a tiny fly known as a midge, often called “no-see-ums,” as well as some types of mosquitoes.

“While the species of midge (Culicoides paraensis) and mosquito (Culex quinquefasciatus) that are known to transmit Oropouche virus disease are not known to be established in Canada, they have been detected in the United States,” the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said in response to questions from CBC News.

Scientists say high temperatures, humidity and the season affect the midge populations.

Human-to-human transmission hasn’t been documented.

What are the symptoms?

The flu-like symptoms resemble those of other tropical diseases such as dengue fever and the Zika virus that made headlines in 2015. A large Zika outbreak in Brazil caused a rise in microcephaly, where the baby’s brain is underdeveloped, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). 

“It’s sudden fever, headache that is unfortunately resistant to many of the treatments, [as well as] muscle pain, joint pain,” said Andrea Vicari, who heads PAHO’s unit for pandemic preparedness and response. 

“It can be quite a painful disease, but it’s usually self-limiting.”

Other symptoms can include sensitivity to light, dizziness, pain behind the eyes, nausea, vomiting and rashes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Symptoms typically last less than a week, but can often reoccur days or weeks later, with most people recovering within days to a month.

“Oropouche fever can be mistaken for dengue,” Canada’s travel health notice flagged.

How severe is it?

About 60 per cent of people infected with Oropouche virus show symptoms, the CDC said.

The U.S. agency estimates one in 20 patients can suffer more severe symptoms like bleeding and brain inflammation such as meningitis and encephalitis.

In July, Brazilian health officials reported two deaths of otherwise healthy non-pregnant women with the infection.

The World Health Organization� said they were the first fatal cases due to the infection in Brazil and the Americas region. 

As of July 20, the WHO has reported more than 8,000 confirmed Oropouche cases this year, including more than 7,200 in Brazil as well as Bolivia, Peru, Colombia and Cuba.

Brazilian authorities also reported five cases in pregnant people, with evidence the virus was transmitted to the fetus, with effects including fetal death or abnormalities at birth, including microcephaly.

“Until more evidence is available, pregnant people travelling to affected destinations are advised to strictly follow the bug bite prevention recommendations,” a PHAC spokesperson said.

“Pregnant people should discuss the risks of their travel plans with their health-care provider and should go see their health-care provider if they are not feeling well after their trip.”

How is it treated and prevented?

There are no vaccines to prevent infections and no specific medicines available to treat the symptoms of Oropouche virus.

The best way to avoid the infection is to not get bitten in the first place.

To that end, federal officials advise consulting a health-care provider or visiting a travel health clinic, preferably at least six weeks before you travel, for personalized health advice and recommendations.

During a trip, people are advised to prevent insect bites at all times by:

• Always use an approved insect repellent (bug spray) on exposed skin. For best results, read and follow all label directions.
• Consider limiting outdoor activities when midges and mosquitoes are most active.
• Cover up with light-coloured, loose clothing made of tightly woven materials such as nylon or polyester. Wear long pants and tucked-in long-sleeved shirts with closed-toe shoes or boots and a hat.
• Use mosquito netting when sleeping (day or night) outdoors or in buildings that are not fully enclosed.
• Consider wearing approved insecticide-treated clothing.

What’s next?

U.S. and Canadian officials said they’re working to enable rapid detection and surveillance of the virus and disease to guide public health prevention measures.

All samples of suspected Oropouche virus disease from provincial and territorial laboratories would be sent to PHAC’s National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg for confirmatory tests.

Published at Fri, 30 Aug 2024 08:00:00 +0000