When Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel on Friday evening, among those who suffered were Alaa Jaradat, a Palestinian construction worker in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and his family.
Israeli interceptors colliding with incoming Iranian missiles rained debris on Mr. Jaradat’s home, damaging the building and leaving his children with minor injuries, he said. While Israelis in nearby settlements hunkered down in purpose-built safe rooms, the Jaradat family and their Palestinian neighbors had nowhere to hide.
“We’ve had no help from the government, not even a warning,” said Mr. Jaradat, 43.
Since the confrontation between Israel and Iran began last Friday, roughly 80 pieces of shrapnel have hit Palestinian communities in the West Bank, according to Nael Al-Azza, a spokesman for the Palestinian emergency services, or civil defense.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank, like communities within Israel, typically have bomb shelters and air raid sirens. But Palestinian neighborhoods in the West Bank, sometimes just a few dozen yards from Israeli settlements, have few shelters, warnings or official instructions on what to do in case of attack. According to Mr. Al-Azza, seven people have been injured as a result.
This dynamic has heightened frustration with both the Israeli military occupation and the Palestinian Authority, the semiautonomous body that administers roughly 40 percent of the West Bank. Though the authority’s emergency services have warned Palestinians to stay away from unexploded ordnance, the authority has otherwise offered little guidance on how to prepare for the attacks.
“I keep thinking about how I will repair the house and how we can regain any sense of safety — without any support or assistance from the government,” said Mr. Jaradat, who has moved his family to a relative’s home for now.
Amid the airstrikes, Israeli military raids and attacks by settlers have continued across the West Bank, compounding the sense of uncertainty. Israeli checkpoints and roadblocks also restrict Palestinian movement, making it harder for ambulances to reach the injured, according to Ahmed Jibreel, the head of the Palestinian Red Crescent.
“Continuous passage is nearly impossible,” Mr. Jibreel said, adding that injured or ill people are often carried on foot between ambulances on either side of a checkpoint.
Within Palestinian cities, scenes of panic have played out at gas stations for three days in a row, as residents attempt to stock up on fuel in case the war leads to a shortage.
In turn, that has led to a new joke among Palestinians: “What’s the point of stockpiling fuel if you can’t move?”
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