“That shared history is why so many see these events not as separate incidents, but as one continuous struggle.”
By Yihya Sirhan
Across the occupied West Bank, more and more Palestinians describe their daily reality as a continuation of the Nakba of 1948 — the Arabic word meaning “catastrophe,” when hundreds of thousands were displaced during the establishment of the State of Israel. For many families, what is happening today echoes memories passed down through generations: forced displacement, lost homes, destroyed communities, and the constant struggle to stay connected to their land and identity.
Whether seen as a new chapter or a direct continuation, Palestinians view rising displacement, settlement expansion, settler violence, and movement restrictions as part of an ongoing process of dispossession. Human rights groups and international agencies have all documented the sharp rise in violence, property destruction, and worsening humanitarian hardship across the West Bank.
Palestinian communities report frequent attacks targeting homes, farmland, olive groves, livestock, and water supplies — including arson, crop destruction, theft, and intimidation, all clearly aimed at pushing people off their land. Settler violence is now at some of the highest levels ever recorded, with hundreds of incidents causing injury, loss and displacement. Residents describe a repeated pattern: areas are closed off, then settlers move in, setting up outposts that eventually grow into permanent settlements, steadily cutting Palestinians off from their own land.
Homes, orchards, crops and water systems are regularly destroyed — devastating communities that depend on farming and herding to survive. Multi-generational family homes are often lost or made inaccessible; for Palestinians, this means losing far more than property — it means losing their history, their community and their security. With livelihoods destroyed, food and income grow scarce, deepening the humanitarian crisis.
Movement is severely restricted across the West Bank, with hundreds of checkpoints and roadblocks cutting off access to work, schools, hospitals and basic supplies. Some villages have been effectively sealed off — families trapped inside, with water, electricity, food and medicine reportedly blocked, as seen recently in places like Qusra.
For older Palestinians, this brings back clear memories of 1948. Younger generations are growing up hearing those stories while witnessing the same kind of displacement today. That shared history is why so many see these events not as separate incidents, but as one continuous struggle — the same struggle their grandparents faced: simply to remain on their land and keep their communities.
- This article first appeared on Labour Hub on 15 August 2026.
- Yihya Sirhan is a Palestinian living in London.
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