Israel is escalating its violence against Palestinians.

Israel’s apartheid regime has again escalated its daily violence against Palestinians. The uptick in violence in 2023 reflects the genocidal ideology of Israel’s ultra right-wing, settler government.

Following shootings in Huwara and Hebron that left three Israelis dead, settlers and Israeli officials alike have called for revenge, with Palestinians living under Israel’s brutal military occupation once again facing collective punishment and disproportionate violence.

Israeli forces launched raids on a number of Palestinian villages. During a raid over the weekend on the Palestinian village of Beita, Israeli forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets, injuring over 112 Palestinians — and on Monday, horrifying videos emerged of Israeli forces in Beita shooting a Palestinian man in the back of the head while he attempted to reach one of the injured.

And on Tuesday, in al-Zababdeh, south of Jenin, Israeli forces shot and killed 17-year-old Othman Abu Khoruj during a raid on the city. We won’t be able to forget the heartbreaking images of Othman’s distraught father marching during the funeral of his youngest son.

As Israeli forces blocked roads and erected military barricades, preventing Palestinians from going about their daily lives, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian homes and cars and demanded that Huwara be burned to the ground.

This rhetoric is echoed at the highest levels of the Israeli government. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a right-wing extremist, is calling for an expansion of illegal, Jewish-only settlements, and demanding that the Israeli military launch an offensive in the West Bank, which would undoubtedly lead to further destruction of Palestinian homes and lives.

One thing is clear: Zionism has increasingly meant the collective punishment of a people living under decades of brutal military rule.

“Making the case for divestment and sanctions”

In this article, al-Shabaka’s Tariq Kenney-Shawa argues that calls to condition or cut U.S. military aid to Israel don’t actually go far enough, writing:

“Only by conditioning US aid alongside more assertive punitive measures such as divestment and sanctions can the US effectively pressure Israel to bring an end to occupation and apartheid.”

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