My life inside Israel's panopticon

Across the West Bank, security is never guaranteed. Locked doors and alarm systems pale in comparison to the complex and completely embedded surveillance network that the Israeli occupation has put into place.

Palestinians are never fully at peace because of the conditions we live under. Even if, from an outsider’s perspective, we may seem to have some level of autonomy, the occupation serves as a sort of inescapable panopticon that reaches into the most intimate of settings – the home.

This facade of supposed autonomy is broken, however, when you become aware of the sinister mechanisms the occupation utilises in order to put Palestinians in a constant state of insecurity.

Neighbourhood strolls turn into military pursuits, and a family visit to a neighbouring village can turn into an arrest.

While the genocide in Gaza rages on despite the pretence of a ceasefire, in addition to the US-Israel war on Iran, worsening conditions in the West Bank don’t often get the attention they should. More and more land is taken, settlements are expanded, and the Israeli settlers themselves continue their brazen behaviour.

Households in the West Bank are all tainted by the ever-looming cloud of occupation. Even if your family may be physically safe or somewhat distanced from the aggression, no one is immune to the evils of the Israeli state. As plans to annex the West Bank move forward, the tentacles of the Israeli empire continue to extend their reach into every Palestinian home.

Big brother is always watching

I am made aware of this all-encompassing surveillance each time I enter and exit the West Bank, via the Allenby Bridge crossing, where Palestinians living in the West Bank are required to travel first to Jericho, then to a series of Israeli checkpoints, and finally to the Jordanian side of the border. The Israeli checkpoints within this crossing, first by road, then by processing centre, herd travelling Palestinians in a manner akin to cattle, individually granting us permission to leave “Israel”.

Each West Bank resident has a Palestinian ID (hawiya) that Israelis use in order to grant us these entry/exit permits, making it impossible for us to leave without permission from our occupiers.

Aside from travelling long distances, my maternal grandmother’s neighbourhood of Jabal al Taweel, located only a few minutes away from my own home, is also constantly inundated with Israeli presence. This is largely because of the Israeli settlement Psagot that is located just above the neighbourhood, which contains over 2,000 settlers.

Psagot was first established in the early 1980s, and while it is not a very large settlement, it has definitely made its presence known through constant harassment of Jabal al Taweel residents and Israeli military incursions into homes.

On our frequent visits to my grandmother’s house, it is not uncommon to see an Israeli tank parked down the street, for “monitoring” purposes, or to hear gunshots – the military’s attempts to subdue the locals.

I often ask my grandmother what life was like before the settlement was created, and she regales me with stories of her childhood, when she would pick fruit from the land the illegal settlement now stands on and enjoy the nature that was (at that time) unimpeded by the occupation.

Now, however, Jabal al Taweel residents live in constant fear, always on the lookout for the IDF’s next violent episode.

Recently, a middle-aged woman in the neighbourhood was forced to leave her home for over a day so Israeli forces could use her house as a surveillance point. This Big Brother-esque tactic is mainly used not only to reinforce the control and tight grip that the occupation has on Palestinians, but also because Jabal al Taweel contains many younger residents.

Children are often seen on street corners playing with friends, shopping from the small local market, and even directly fighting back against the military’s presence in their neighbourhood by throwing stones, a simple act of resistance Palestinians have been doing for decades.

Despite the children and young adults not posing any actual military threat, the IDF still camps out in homes, kicking the residents out, in order to keep a close eye on the happenings within the neighbourhood. There have even been instances of soldiers physically assaulting these young people, for the mere crime of existing in their community.

The perceived “threat” of Palestinians living in Jabal al Taweel goes beyond any age limits, as the elderly have also been targeted. In early August 2025, elderly couple Najih and Wajdan Tawil were zip tied and held for over six hours  by Israeli forces in their home.

This horrific episode was justified as serving ‘security’ purposes, with the soldiers claiming that they needed to use the Tawil’s home as a watchpoint.

Palestinians who still have ownership of their land and residences in the West Bank do not live with a peace of mind. At a soldier’s whim, they could be forcibly removed from their homes or have to deal with an Israeli’s aggression at any given moment.

The violent instances in Jabal al Taweel stem from military presence, but other areas in the West Bank have to face brutality from both soldiers and settlers alike.

Recently, settler violence across the West Bank has seen a sharp increase following the death of 18-year-old settler Yehuda Sherman on 21 March, after he collided with a Palestinian vehicle. Despite the car being stolen and a Palestinian having no involvement with his death, Sherman’s fellow settlers have gone on a revenge spree, burning vehicles and vandalising homes.

The complete impunity that both Israeli soldiers and settlers hold, despite being considered criminals under international law, allows these acts to be committed with little to no outcry from the global community.

In the past month alone, settlers have killed a Palestinian man, set up an illegal encampment within Jerusalem, and even proudly raised the Israeli flag at Al-Aqsa Mosque, all blatant acts of depravity.

Palestinians can never rest easy under the (sometimes literal) boot of occupation that seeps into every aspect of our existence. Even within the walls of our homes, Israeli barbarism exists as a sort of horrible roommate.

Falasteen Mansour is currently a freelance writer and student journalist at Northwestern University in Qatar, pursuing minors in Media and Politics and Middle East Studies. She grew up in the United States, but has lived in the occupied West Bank for the past four years, and is passionate about spreading awareness for the Palestinian cause through her volunteering efforts and writings.

Follow Falasteen on Instagram: @falasteenmansour 

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