Ramita Navai: While all eyes are on Gaza right now as they should be, the West Bank is the most violent and volatile it's been for decades and the situation there is really starting to bubble up and I think the world needs to sit up and pay attention to what's happening there.
Patrick Center: What are you seeing that concerns you or what are the issues you think need to be addressed?
Ramita Navai: I would say one of the most important issues is the expansion of settlements, some of which are illegal, even under Israeli law. Now, these settlements have been steadily expanding over the last few years. But what's happened in the West Bank since October 7th is a rapid increase in land grabs by extremist settlers, and also a rapid increase in violence against Palestinians by extremist settlers.
Patrick Center: How can this be controlled? Is anybody talking about this or are all eyes on Gaza at the moment?
Ramita Navai: Well, I mean, this is a big issue because, of course, any peace negotiations, any talks of a viable Palestinian state will depend on the question of what to do with these settlements. There are now over half a million Israeli settlers in the West Bank. So, you have to deal with that issue. What will happen to those settlers? Will there be some kind of deal? And also, you have to fire and halt the illegal expansion of these settlements. So, we covered several incidents that have happened since October 7th. So, from the Israeli perspective, since October 7th, settlers feel vulnerable. They feel at risk. So now many settlers are arming themselves in a way they hadn't before. From a Palestinian perspective, they have come under fire and are at threat from the settlers around them. So, we covered several incidents. One of them was in a village called Qusra. Right after October 7th, settlers entered the village of Qusra, started shooting, killed four Palestinians. Within 24 hours, six Palestinians had been killed. Now you asked what can be done. Well, at the moment, it seems that very little is being done. So, the Israeli Defense Forces says it's investigating these murders. Ten Palestinians have been killed by settlers since October 7th. Not one has been charged.
Patrick Center: You've spoken with members of the militant group there. What is their perspective?
Ramita Navai: Yeah, so we went to the Janine refugee camp and the Tulkarm refugee camp and spoke to members of the Tulkarm Brigades, and we spoke to a Hamas fighter in Janine. So, they very much see themselves as kind of a defensive force in these little islands in the West Bank. However, they have been emboldened by the October 7th attacks, and they now believe armed resistance is possible. and they think the only way of ending the occupation, and by the way, for most Palestinians, this is the big issue, it's about ending the occupation. It's not just about the settlements, it's really the big question here is, how do you end the occupation? And they believe it can only be done through violence, through armed resistance, as they see it. You asked about the armed groups. One thing I would say is interesting that the armed groups have had divisions, there've been factions between them. And one thing I would say is that since October 7th, What October 7th did was manage to unite these armed groups. So, they're putting their differences aside and they're all realizing they can work together to common goal, which is violence to end the occupation. Yeah, you say it hasn't succeeded. It hasn't succeeded, but if you speak to Palestinians, they'll say, well, neither have peaceful negotiations. We've tried everything and all the avenues are closed to us. And that was interesting actually, that we saw that many people were supporting Hamas in the West Bank. They didn't support Hamas before October 7th. And when you really drill down into that and you say to them, but how can you support Hamas after the terrible, brutal atrocities of October 7th? So, two things are happening here. A lot of Palestinians don't believe all of the details of the attack. They don't believe the rapes happened, for example. They don't want to believe it. And a lot of Palestinians will also tell you that it's not about October 7th. For them, Hamas is symbolic of resistance. and that's why they support Hamas.
Patrick Center: What has happened with the residents, the people who live there, you've met with families who have lost loved ones in these attacks. What is the feeling that you get just among the general population?
Ramita Navai: So, in places like Janine and Tulkarm, where there are regular IDF incursions, every few days there's an IDF incursion, a raid, they call it. The residents there, are losing hope, fast losing hope. So, what happens is that there'll be a raid, militants will fight back. The raid can go on sometimes for days. We witnessed a raid in Janine, it was really scary. It carried on for over 14 hours and there's fighting. IDF bulldozers go in, the IDF are looking for improvised explosive devices. But also, what happens is the bulldozers are churning up the streets. They also destroy the water mains, the electricity. So, then the camp is left without water and electricity. Of course, after the raid, we went in to have a look in both Tulkarm and Janine after raids that happened there. Houses are completely destroyed. It looks like a war zone. People are angry and without hope.
Patrick Center: Do you see this becoming a situation very similar to Gaza?
Ramita Navai: I see it bubbling up and I think there is a real worry of an intifada. As Palestinians say themselves, there's only so much they can take. Of course, you know, you've got to note that from the Israeli point of view, for them it's an issue of security. You know, they're now on the defensive and they're very scared after October 7th, after the attacks, as they should be. From a Palestinian perspective, they see what's happening as collective punishment. So, as well as the raids, for example, thousands of Palestinians have been arrested. And Palestinians say that they've been arrested for no infractions at all. So, for things like liking Facebook posts, for example. Of course, as well, you've got to say from the Israeli side, Israel says of the thousands it's arrested, you know, 1,300 had links to Hamas.
Patrick Center: You spent time there. As a reporter, what was your experience?
Ramita Navai: My experience was that right now, you know, it's not fun being a Palestinian on the West Bank, that movement for Palestinians is severely restricted, that it's impossible to get through checkpoints. So, we had a brilliant young Palestinian producer who's from Nablus. And whenever we were at a checkpoint with him, we'd get turned away, even though he had all the right press accreditation, all the right papers to get through checkpoints. You know, and that's a young Palestinian with a Western TV crew. So, Palestinians are getting angry and they, yeah, they really feel that they're being collectively punished. And I must say, on the ground, that's what it looks like. Again, of course, you know, Israel is worried about its security. So of course, there is a justified Israeli viewpoint on this.
Patrick Center: Tuesday night at 10 o'clock here on WGVU Public Television, Frontline presents Israel's second front reporter, producer, Ramita Navai. Thank you so much for your time. We truly appreciate it.
Ramita Navai: Thank you for having me.