'Voices of reason gaining strength: Most Israelis and Palestinians want an end to this madness'

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00:00Next, incursions by Israel's army left at least 10 people dead in the West Bank in

00:05places like Jenin, Tubas and Tulkan. It's the latest in a series of clashes that

00:10have risen sharply in the region since the start of Israel's bombardment of the

00:14Gaza Strip on October the 7th. But this time a multi-fronted offensive by

00:18Israel's army in the occupied West Bank has taken observers by surprise.

00:24I'm Issa Herbert with this. In Jenin on Wednesday, armoured Israeli vehicles

00:31drove the streets, blocking exit and entry points and access to hospitals

00:36according to local authorities. After a major Israeli military operation into

00:41the occupied West Bank overnight, which claimed multiple lives, this Palestinian

00:46Red Crescent paramedic responded to one of the scenes. Around 2 a.m. the army

00:52raided the refugee camp with a large number of soldiers on foot. They raided the

00:57camp from different areas. According to Palestinian health authorities, the

01:04operation took place in Jenin, Tulkan and Tubas. While Israeli incursions are an

01:09often daily occurrence, it is rare for them to be carried out simultaneously in

01:14several towns at once, as they were on Tuesday night. Israel's foreign minister

01:19claimed they raided the refugee camps in order to dismantle what he said were

01:22Iranian Islamic terror infrastructures. We must address this threat with the same

01:28determination used against terror infrastructures in Gaza, including

01:31temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents and any necessary measures.

01:35This is a war and we must win it. Israeli forces have been stepping up their

01:40operations in the north of the West Bank, where armed groups have been particularly

01:44active, radicalized by the frequent attacks by Jewish settlers on

01:48Palestinian communities. Since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, more than

01:53650 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, according to Palestinian

01:57Health Ministry, and at least 20 Israelis have died in clashes, according to

02:02Israeli officials. Eliza Herbert with that report. Let's get the analysis and

02:06welcome Avi Meierstein to the program, founder and president of the Alliance for

02:11Middle East Peace, joining us live from Washington DC. Avi, thanks for being with

02:15us. This Israeli army attack on the West Bank, what is your take on what is

02:20happening? Well, thanks for having me. I think this speaks to a very unstable

02:28situation that we've been watching, not just in the West Bank, to be honest, which

02:32has been boiling over for quite some time, but throughout the region, inside

02:37Israel, in Gaza, in the West Bank, on the northern borders. We've been seeing how

02:43just a week ago, everyone was holding their breath that there might be a

02:47hostage deal that seemed so close. A few days later, the entire region was on the

02:51razor's edge, fearing that there might be a massive escalation coming out of

02:56Lebanon. And now we see this West Bank situation really flare up with a set of

03:04raids from air and ground that seem to be a peak beyond what we've seen in many

03:10years. A peak beyond what we've seen in many years. Many people surprised by the

03:15fact that three places were hit. And of course, at least 10 people killed. I

03:23think people who might have been focused on on Gaza, perhaps, or other parts in

03:28the world might have been surprised. But people that I talked to in the West Bank

03:31have been very concerned about the situation for the entirety of this war,

03:36and frankly, even before it, because of the situation there, which has only been

03:41exacerbated by the war. But it's a very difficult economic situation. Of course,

03:48people are terribly upset about the course of the war and all the people that

03:52have been killed in Gaza. And it's created perhaps an opening for groups

03:58that are trying to mobilize against Israel. And likewise, for Israel to seek

04:05the opportunity to go in and pursue these raids against those armed groups.

04:11Indeed, I hear what you're saying completely. The Israeli authorities, I've

04:15heard Yav Galant in particular, referred to the West Bank as Judea and Samaria,

04:19just to sort of give people some of the wider vocabulary that's being used. The

04:23US has today introduced sanctions on two Jewish settler organizations. Is this

04:30in some way a change in attitude from the US authorities?

04:36I think it's a continuation more than a change. This is something that's been

04:40going on for the last year or two, in little drips and drabs as the US has

04:46leaned in more. Because the Israeli government, as currently constituted

04:51with real far-right elements in it, have been giving cover to a lot of these

04:59settler extremists. We saw just a week or so ago the additional pogrom, as many

05:05have described it, with over 100 settlers who attacked the village of Jit. It was a

05:12deadly attack, a Palestinian was killed, and the Israeli army on the ground was

05:19somewhere between helpless or not intervening nearly enough. This is a real

05:25problem that's developed. There aren't that many tools in the toolbox for the US

05:30administration if they want to continue to support Israel's defense at the larger

05:36scale. I think in order to address this particular issue, they're trying to go

05:41after sanctions of these individuals who are supporting the settler movement,

05:46including supporting expanding it as they try to seize more land and realize

05:51their dream of annexing the West Bank to be part of Israel.

05:55Indeed, that has been a continuation, as you say, and regardless of what is said

05:59by the White House or any other allies, that settler philosophy continues. The

06:06fact remains, though, that right now in the Middle East, a truce is very much

06:10less likely than further escalation. The bombardment continues in the Gaza Strip.

06:14There's still things happening on the northern border with Lebanon, with

06:18Hezbollah. And now this issue in the West Bank, which you say is part of

06:21something that was already happening, but it appears to be now getting worse.

06:25So we're in a situation here where escalation is purely and simply the only

06:29way forward, isn't it? Which is very scary.

06:32I don't think escalation is the only way forward. It certainly has a

06:36significant amount of momentum and there's zero margin for error. And we've

06:41been in that situation for many months now. The weekend events that almost

06:45boiled over in the north into a massive escalation are just the latest example.

06:50But there are choices to be made. And everyone, the international community,

06:54as well as Israelis and Palestinians and their leaders, are making choices

06:57every day. And I think it's worth noting in that vein that the voices of reason

07:02have been gaining strength in the last weeks and months. Most Israelis and

07:06Palestinians want an end to this madness. That's what they've been

07:09saying. And they've been taking action. Just in the last few days, tens of

07:14thousands of Palestinians and Jewish Israelis mobilized together to organize

07:19about 450 trucks full of aid to go to Gaza. We saw last month the largest peace

07:26demonstration in Israel in 20 years. And there have been voices breaking through

07:31in Gaza who've been critical of Hamas more publicly and calling for an end to

07:36the war. So I think we're starting to see a significant move by lots of people

07:42on the ground, whose interests are all aligned in bringing this to an end. And I

07:47think the message coming through is pretty clear that we we must stop the

07:51bleeding. And when we do, we can't tolerate allowing this status quo to

07:55continue. We can't continue managing the conflict. We have to urgently pivot

08:01towards resolving it.

08:03Wise words. I'm clinging to what you said that the voices of reason are

08:06gaining strength. That gives people hope that something can be resolved and be

08:10resolved soon. Avi Meyerstein, founder and president of the Alliance for Middle

08:14East Peace, joining us live from Washington. Thank you very much indeed

08:17for being with us here on France 24. We appreciate your time and your very

08:20succinct analysis.

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