When I returned to my hometown near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank in January, the tension was palpable. It reminded me of the second Intifada, which I witnessed firsthand as a child. There was fear and anxiety and an increased sense of uncertainty due to constant attacks by Israeli settlers. Roads to and from the town were blocked by checkpoints, leading to hours-long waits and humiliation for Palestinians trying to enter or leave.
Weeks before I visited, Israeli settlers had set fire to my family’s land during the olive-picking season. This followed a similar attack last summer and two more the year before, which had destroyed property, crops, and ancient olive trees.
My father told me he stood powerless, unable to extinguish the fire as the armed settlers were protected by Israeli forces. Even if the soldiers hadn’t been there to prevent any action to save the property, there would not have been enough water available to put out the fire because it is diverted by nearby illegal settlements.
The situation across the occupied West Bank has been worsening for years, but violence escalated sharply after October 7, 2023. Nearly half of all Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces or settlers since records began were killed in just the past two years.
So far this year, that violence has seen a two-year-old shot in the head by an Israeli sniper inside her family home, and a 23-year-old pregnant woman killed by Israeli fire. These are not isolated incidents, but part of a broader pattern where Palestinians are killed in unprecedented ways, at unprecedented rates.
Israeli military raids on Palestinian homes and arbitrary detention have become a daily occurrence. Of the 10,000 Palestinians lingering in Israeli prisons, more than 300 are children, most of whom face no charge and have no way of knowing if or when they will see their families again.
Villages are attacked, homes are demolished, and property is destroyed at accelerated rates. The architecture of occupation — checkpoints, barriers, and permits — has intensified and made daily life unbearable for Palestinians. Nearly 900 new military checkpoints and barriers have been installed since October 7. This has led to severe movement restrictions and disruptions to essential services, deepening an already dire humanitarian crisis.
What was once unprecedented has become “routine” – and the world seems to be getting used to it. Our new reality includes Israeli air strikes on refugee camps, hospitals under siege, children shot in front of their homes. Such incidents of brutal violence have become regular occurrences, just like in Gaza.
Remember the first hospital attack in Gaza? The first targeting of a school sheltering the displaced? The first fire from an Israeli air strike tearing through tents of the displaced and burning people alive? Now try to remember the last one. Such violent incidents have become so normalised that they are ultimately accepted as a grim reality in a faraway land.
The same is now happening in the occupied West Bank.
As Save the Children’s representative to the United Nations, I see how this dynamic is reflected on the international stage. The persistent lack of meaningful accountability for Israeli forces has fostered a culture of impunity — allowing acts like bombing schools, burning down homes, and the killing of journalists and humanitarian workers to become perceived as “normal”.
And even when the spotlight is cast on Palestine at global events, it seems to make no difference. Earlier this month, the Palestinian-Israeli film No Other Land won the Oscar for best documentary.
Accepting the award, Palestinian filmmaker Basel Adra expressed his hope that his infant daughter would not have to live the same life that he was currently living – always fearing settler violence, home demolitions and forced displacement.
Despite the film winning the highest accolades (or perhaps because of it), the attacks by Israeli soldiers and settlers on Masafer Yatta, Adra’s community, have only intensified. There has been no meaningful action from the international community about it.
People can be forgiven for being overwhelmed in the face of relentless brutality taking place for more than a year and a half now. It’s only human to feel numb. Besides, so many people have been exposed to media coverage that has systematically dehumanised Palestinians and sidelined their voices, severing human connection and empathy.
But governments cannot be forgiven for taking no action. They have a legal obligation to uphold international law. Its norms are not relative; they are not up for negotiation.
The truth is that the shocking violations taking place in Gaza and the West Bank have been normalised because they are being accepted by those entrusted to uphold the norms of international law.
We must demand that international bodies and governments take concrete steps to hold perpetrators accountable for their actions. This includes suspending arms transfers and supporting mechanisms that challenge impunity for those who flout international law.
The global community must act decisively to restore respect for international law. States that ignore these laws undermine the very foundation of a rules-based global order. While those who violate children’s rights and international law bear ultimate responsibility, all member states of the United Nations have a duty under the Geneva Conventions to ensure adherence to these principles.
Weekly massacres are not normal. A population brought to the brink of a man-made famine is not normal. Air strikes on refugee camps are not normal. A two-tier system of rights based on ethnicity is not normal. Detaining, imprisoning and killing children is not normal.
The time for passive observation has passed. The world must demand accountability, support humanitarian efforts, and refuse to accept the unacceptable. Every delay costs more lives; every delay weakens the system designed to keep people across the world safe. Only through collective action can we break this cycle of violence and ensure a future where children in Palestine and Israel, regardless of their ethnicity or religion, are protected and valued.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
