October 7th Took Place During A So- Called Cease Fire of 2021 (The Unity Intifada)

 Nadene Goldfoot                                              

A Palestinian boy marches with a Hamas flag after the Palestinian election in the Gaza Strip on January 26, 2006

Setting the Scene:  March 27, 2002

The Passover Massacre

  A terrorist attack kills thirty    people at a   Passover celebration at a   hotel in the Israeli city of Netanya. As a result, the Israeli military reoccupies portions of the Judea/Samaria (West Bank), including the city of Ramallah, where the Palestinian Authority is located and where Arafat had his West Bank headquarters.  It wasn't until August 15, 2005 that Israel gave Gaza to the Palestinians and moved themselves out of it in the name of PEACE.  

21 Years Later:

In 2023, there was a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that had been in place since the 11-day conflict in May 2021.The phrase "ceasefire" might refer to specific agreements primarily focused on the Gaza Strip, and the intensity and frequency of operations in the West Bank remained a concern throughout this period. 

                                     JUDEA AND SAMARIA

However, tensions and violence between Israelis and Palestinians had been rising throughout 2023.  A few reports were that Israel had conducted military operations in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and Gaza, including airstrikes and responding to protests with live fire in the months leading up to October 7. Yes, there was a significant amount of fighting and Israeli military operations by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the West Bank between 2021 and 2023. 

Escalation of Violence: The period witnessed a rise in violence in the Judea/Samaria( West Bank,) particularly following an 11-day battle between Israeli forces and Hamas in May 2021.  It seems that the terrorists in Judea/Samaria need to put their 2-bits in the battle as well, helping their brothers in Gaza.  

An 11-day conflict did occur in May 2021, primarily involving the Gaza Strip and Israel, referred to by Israel as "Operation Guardian of the Walls". This operation was initiated in response to rockets launched from Gaza into Israel by Hamas and other groups, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The fighting during this period resulted in numerous casualties and significant destruction, particularly in the Gaza Strip. 

While the Gaza conflict in 2021 did have repercussions and impact in the West Bank, it wasn't an isolated 11-day battle within the West Bank itself. The period before October 7, 2023, was marked by increased violence and tensions in Judea/Samaeria (the West Bank), including settler attacks against Palestinians and intensified IDF raids, but not a single prolonged battle of that duration and intensity specifically within the West Bank. 

• Operation Break the Wave: In response to a surge of armed activity in the West Bank and a string of terror attacks in early 2022, the IDF launched Operation Break the Wave. This campaign involved almost daily raids in the West Bank, primarily focused on targeting militants and preventing attacks.
• Casualties and Detention: The year 2023 was particularly deadly, with Israeli forces killing 492 Palestinians, including 120 children, in Judea/Samaria (the West Bank), according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). This marked the highest number of fatalities since the UN began documenting casualties systematically. 
• In the same year, 25 Israeli civilians and 5 IDF members were killed by Palestinians in the West Bank.

In summary, the years 2021-2023 in the West Bank saw a significant level of fighting and military action involving the IDF, marked by escalated violence, counterterrorism operations, and a substantial number of casualties on both sides. This reporter  includes after Oct 7, 2023.  

The October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel is generally seen as having broken the prevailing cessation of overt hostilities between the two sides. 

While there wasn't an active, formal ceasefire in place on that specific day, it marked a significant escalation after a period of relative calm in Gaza.  It must have been, for a kibbutz had planned their outdoor Music Festival on the last day of Succot, and they had no hints of any problems.  

Other sources indicate that Israel also violated the 2021 ceasefire agreement in March 2023 by bombing Gaza for two weeks. 

Multiple sources confirm that the period between 2021 and 2023 witnessed heightened Israeli military activity in Judea and Samaria, also known as the West Bank. This included: 

Increased raids and operations: These were concentrated around refugee camps, particularly in the northern West Bank.Yes, the IDF did conduct military operations and enter West Bank refugee camps during 2021-2023. These operations have been documented in reports by organizations like UNRWA and human rights groups.  (That resource is always questionable.  UNRWA has been found in too many case now to be supportive of the Palestinians in their aim of driving Israel into the sea). 

(However,  Jenin has been a problem many times, so entering there is almost normal.  It is where terrorists are born).  These reports indicate that the IDF carried out military operations in various West Bank refugee camps, particularly around the cities of Tulkarem and Jenin. These operations were described as the longest and most destructive in the region since the second Intifada. 

Based on the provided information, the IDF conducted several incursions into the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank before October 7, 2023. 

Notable operations in 2023 included:

January 26, 2023: A raid resulted in the deaths of at least nine Palestinians and injuries to 19 others. This was considered the deadliest operation in the West Bank in 20 years at the time.

March 7, 2023: Ten Palestinians were killed in or as a result of an Israeli army raid in Jenin refugee camp.

June 19, 2023: An incursion to arrest two suspects led to clashes with Palestinian gunmen, resulting in seven Palestinian deaths and 90 injuries.

July 3-5, 2023: A large-scale air and ground operation, referred to by Israel as Operation Home and Garden, occurred in the Jenin refugee camp and surrounding areas. It resulted in the deaths of 12 Palestinians and over 140 injuries, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, and was the largest incursion and deployment of aerial force against militants in the West Bank in 20 years. 

It's important to note that the term "incursion" can refer to various types of military activity, ranging from smaller raids to larger-scale operations involving both air and ground forces. The frequency of these incursions highlights Jenin's ongoing significance as a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, even before the October 7, 2023 events. 

The IDF has stated their operations are for counterterrorism purposes, targeting militants and their infrastructure within the camps. However, these actions have also led to significant civilian casualties and displacement, with reports of damage to infrastructure and restrictions on access to essential services like healthcare and humanitarian aid. 

The UN and other humanitarian organizations have raised serious concerns about the impact of these operations on the Palestinian civilian population in the West Bank refugee camps, according to UN News. 

While the sources don't explicitly mention a specific two-week period of continuous Israeli attacks in the West Bank during a ceasefire in 2021-2023, the data indicates a consistent pattern of Israeli military presence and engagement in the territory during this time. 

Yes, there was a ceasefire called after the 11-day conflict in May 2021, which included events in Judea/Samaria (West Bank), East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. The conflict is known as the 2021 Israel-Palestine crisis or the Unity Intifada. 

The ceasefire, mediated by Egypt, came into effect on May 21, 2021, ending 11 days of fighting between Israel and Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas. Both sides ultimately claimed victory. 

The May 2021 ceasefire that ended the 11-day Israeli-Palestinian crisis, sometimes called the "Unity Intifada," officially went into effect on May 21, 2021. While the truce largely held in the immediate aftermath, there were some early violations and tensions remained high. 

For example, on June 16, 2021, less than a month after the ceasefire, incendiary balloons were launched from Gaza into Israel, prompting retaliatory Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.

However, despite the ceasefire, there were reports of ongoing tensions and clashes in East Jerusalem and the West Bank in the aftermath, according to Al Jazeera, an Arab newspaper from Qatar. That really didn't hold, did it???

Resource:

https://education.cfr.org/learn/timeline/israeli-palestinian-conflict-timeline

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Israel%E2%80%93Palestine_crisis#:~:text=Israel%20conducted%20around%201%2C500%20aerial,which%20both%20sides%20claimed%20victory.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/21/jubilation-in-gaza-as-ceasefire-takes-effect-palestine-israel-ve#:~:text=Thousands%20of%20Palestinians%20in%20the,hold%2C%20says%20top%20Palestinian%20diplomat

https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/israel-west-bank-and-gaza/west-bank-and-gaza/#:~:text=Israel-,EXECUTIVE%20SUMMARY,spiked%20sharply%20after%20October%207.

https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/

israel-west-bank-and-gaza/west-bank-and-gaza/#:~:text=Israel-,EXECUTIVE%20S

UMMARY,spiked%20sharply%20after%20October%207.