AhlulBayt News Agency: The year 2025 brought Palestinians a sharply contrasting reality: on one side, unprecedented international recognition of the State of Palestine; on the other, an intensification of a “parallel war” by the Israeli regime in the West Bank, marked by killings, demolitions, and large-scale settlement expansion.
Events in the West Bank during 2025 showed that the Israeli regime, facing growing political isolation internationally, pursued a strategy of heightened field pressure. While the Gaza conflict persisted, Tel Aviv concentrated its military operations on the northern West Bank—particularly Jenin, Nablus, and Tulkarm—making daily raids on cities and refugee camps routine.
According to official Palestinian statistics and UN reports, about 250 Palestinians were killed, thousands arrested, and more than 1,600 homes demolished in 2025. This led to widespread displacement and the weakening of Palestinian social and economic structures. The “Iron Wall” operation, conducted between January and March 2025, which saw tanks reintroduced into refugee camps, represented the peak of this military approach.
Alongside military actions, organized settler attacks and unprecedented settlement expansion further fragmented the West Bank’s geography. The creation of dozens of new settlement outposts and restrictions on Palestinian movement with metal gates have severely undermined the possibility of a contiguous Palestinian state. Meanwhile, the limitation of UNRWA’s activities and closure of its schools intensified the humanitarian crisis.
This escalation of field pressure contrasted sharply with political developments in 2025, when several Western countries recognized Palestine, raising the total number of recognizing states to 160. While these diplomatic achievements have yet to bring tangible change on the ground, they underscore the widening gap between the harsh realities imposed by Israel and the diplomatic path supported by much of the international community.
/129
Your Comment