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Israeli forces demolish monuments commemorating Palestinians in West Bank
Israeli forces demolished monuments bearing the names of Palestinians and removed some photographs at Birzeit University and in several communities in the West Bank in October. Palestinian officials and academics said the actions targeted national memory and Palestinians’ ties to their land.
During raids by Israeli forces in the West Bank, monuments and photographs created to commemorate Palestinians’ deceased relatives were also targeted. Palestinian officials and academics described the actions as interference with the national memory of Palestinians.
Demolitions at university campus and in communities
On October 5, Israeli forces entered the Birzeit University campus north of Ramallah with approximately 10 military vehicles and a bulldozer. According to the university, a monument bearing the names of students who had died in Israeli attacks over the years was demolished.
On October 7, a monument commemorating Yaser Ziyab Hamduni, who died in 2016 and was among the Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons, was also demolished in the town of Yabad, southwest of the city of Jenin in the northern West Bank. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said Hamduni died at Soroka Hospital as a result of medical negligence.
Photographs of Palestinians who had died in Israeli attacks were also removed in various parts of Jenin during the same period. Notices were sent to some areas before the monuments and signs were demolished.
A monument bearing the names of Palestinians was demolished on October 12 in the village of Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah, while another monument in the Jalazun refugee camp north of Ramallah was demolished on October 14.
How the Israeli army justified the demolitions
i24News reported on October 7 that the Israeli army had launched a broad operation targeting dozens of infrastructure sites in the West Bank. The report said the demolished structures included monuments created to commemorate Palestinians and that they were targeted on the grounds of “incitement to terrorism.”
The Israeli army threatened to demolish any new monuments erected to commemorate Palestinians. The army also announced that people who helped create the monuments or hang photographs of Palestinians who had died would be detained.
Knesset member smashed monument in Madma
On August 25, Israeli Knesset member Tzvi Sukkot smashed with a sledgehammer a monument bearing the names of Palestinians in the village of Madma in the northern West Bank. While sharing footage of the incident on his own account, Sukkot said he had repeatedly asked the army to remove “terror monuments” in the area.
The footage showed Sukkot smashing the monument while soldiers were present.
Palestinian official: Aim is to break people’s will
Wasel Abu Yusuf, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, described the demolition of the monuments as part of efforts targeting Palestinian sacrifices and seeking to break their will. Abu Yusuf assessed the actions alongside the destruction, siege and attacks in Gaza, as well as attacks in the West Bank and settlers’ actions against Palestinians.
Abu Yusuf described the demolition of the monuments as “collective punishment” and an attempt to impose the reality of the occupation on Palestinian land. Saying that the removal of symbols associated with martyrs and detainees was not merely the destruction of physical structures, Abu Yusuf said the meaning of sacrifice carried by these symbols in Palestinian memory was also being targeted.
Birzeit University also said in a statement on October 5 that the demolition of the monument on campus was a direct attack on the university’s memory and that of its deceased students.
Academic: Monuments carry national significance
Adnan Mulhim, a history professor at An-Najah University, said Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank were not limited to military operations. Mulhim said these actions also included efforts to affect Palestinians’ national consciousness and their ties to their land.
Mulhim said the demolition of monuments in the middle of cities or villages using military forces and vehicles showed that these structures were not viewed merely as material objects. He noted that the monuments were symbols of national significance for Palestinians.
Mulhim also included painting street signs red or black, writing some names in Hebrew, and raising Israeli flags in Palestinian cities and streets among efforts to alter the overall appearance.
Mulhim said pressure on Palestinians was not limited to targeting national symbols and also included intimidation and economic pressure. He said demolishing the monuments could not erase the memories held by families and local communities.
During the period when monuments were demolished in the West Bank, killings, detentions, forced displacement, home demolitions, damage to land and settlement expansion targeting Palestinians, their property and their land were also continuing. These developments coincided with the severe humanitarian destruction that has continued in Gaza since October 2023.
Source: Anadolu Ajansı
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