TEHRAN – With Israeli forces and settlers intensifying their campaign of terror against Palestinians in the West Bank, the situation in the Palestinian-occupied territories seems to be heading toward intensified resistance. 

In a new wave of terror against the Palestinian people, Israeli settlers went on the rampage and destroyed more than a dozen Palestinian village stretching from Ramallah to Nablus. 

The Israeli settlers injured more than 34 Palestinians and set fire to more than 140 cars belonging to the Palestinian people. The arson included a Palestinian ambulance. 23 Palestinian houses were also set ablaze or partly destroyed by the settlers. 

Israeli forces sat idly by during the rampage. They only started firing tear gas when the Palestinian people rose in defense of their villages. 

The Israeli aggression comes on the heels of a military campaign against the Jenin camp which involved surprises for the Israeli regime. During the campaign, many Israeli military vehicles were severely damages as a result of Palestinian resistance units using explosives. 

The Israeli forces were forced to use Apache helicopters and missiles to take its damaged vehicles out of Jenin, something that surprised many Israeli analysts who said that the Palestinian resistance units apparently made remarkable progress in terms of building powerful bombs. Some of the Israeli analysts even compared the bombs used in Jenin with those putatively employed in southern Lebanon. 

Israeli media said what happened in Jenin was exceptional in terms of the gravity of the situation as Israel resorted to air raids for the first time in decades in the West Bank to rescue its entangled forces. 

Israel’s continued aggression against Jenin elicited strong reactions even from countries that have recognized Israel or are reportedly in the process of normalizing relations with Tel Aviv. 

The Persian Gulf Cooperation Council condemned Israel’s aggression against Jenin while Saudi Arabia said Israel is conducting “dangerous violations” in the camp. 

Facing Israeli aggression, the Palestinians of the West Bank are increasing moving toward proactive resistance. 

A survey has revealed that the majority of Palestinians support the armed resistance to liberate their entire land and form one state over the Palestinian Authority and its “two-state” solution.

According to the results of a survey carried out by the Palestinian Policy Research and Survey Center, most of the Palestinian respondents said they believe resistance movements in the besieged Gaza Strip, such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad have outperformed the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its President Mahmoud Abbas, in thriving for a Palestinian state.

The Palestinian Policy Research and Survey Center is based in Ramallah, the occupied West Bank city that houses the headquarters of the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority.

The results of the survey show that 80% of Palestinians want Mahmoud Abbas to step down from presidency of the Palestinian Authority.

Against this backdrop, two young Palestinians conducted an operation against Israeli settlers in the West Bank, killing four of them. Israel killed the two assailants. 

The Palestinians are moving toward resistance in the West Bank after exhausting all other peaceful options as a result of Israel’s procrastination. 

Some of the Palestinian leaders visited Iran in the last days, where they were encouraged to step up resistance against Israel in the West Bank as the only option to liberate Palestine. 

Ali Akbar Ahmadian, The Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), told the Palestinian leaders that resistance is the best method to end the more than 75-year Zionist occupation of Palestine.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, once described Israel as a “rabid dog” due it its hutzpah and brutality. Palestinians residing in the West Bank seem to have come to the conclusion that with such a colonial creature only resistance works.