MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
For the first time in the Iran War, missile fire has killed Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. As NPR's Daniel Estrin reports, Palestinians and Israelis do not have the same protections from incoming missiles.
DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE: In the skies of the West Bank on Wednesday, an Iranian missile with a cluster munition warhead broke up into smaller bomblets. One hurdled down onto the Palestinian village of Beit Awwa (ph) and a small shack, a beauty and nail salon.
And in English, it says on the door, but first, nails. Oh, my gosh. Oh, wow. Nails from this nail salon are just strewn on the floor, mixed with blood.
AKRAM THAWABTEH: (Speaking Arabic).
ESTRIN: "We Palestinians are not taking part in this war," says General Akram Thawabteh, head of the Palestinian Civil Defense Emergency Responders group. "But we are affected," he says, "because of the geography." The village is at the edge of the West Bank, right alongside Israel. Around 15 people in Israel have been killed in the Iran war.
THAWABTEH: (Speaking Arabic).
ESTRIN: "These missiles do not discriminate between a Palestinian and a Jew," he says. "All we do is pray to God that it doesn't fall upon you." Unlike in Israel, Palestinians in the West Bank don't get emergency alerts on their phones with advanced warning of incoming missiles. Palestinians here don't have the shelters and safe rooms their Israeli neighbors do. If they hear air raid sirens, they're from Israeli settlements nearby.
(CROSSTALK)
ESTRIN: Next to the beauty salon, women gather in a living room, comforting the mourners. Hadeel Masalmeh survived. Half her face is bandaged. She ran the beauty salon with her best friend.
HADEEL MASALMEH: (Through interpreter) We were all together, dreaming together, trying to develop ourselves, trying to do something nice for ourselves. I never dreamt of losing my partner, my best friend.
ESTRIN: Her best friend was killed in the missile attack, along with three of their customers, two of them pregnant. They were all getting ready for the Muslim Eid holiday. Masalmeh has grown to expect violence as part of life here.
MASALMEH: (Through interpreter) If we are in the house, we face death. If we're on the road, we face death. This is our life.
ESTRIN: She's referencing what happened on a West Bank road last week. A young family was returning from holiday shopping. Israeli soldiers opened fire on their car, killing a Palestinian couple and two of their little kids. Israeli authorities say they're investigating. Since the Iran war broke out, there's also been a spike in Israeli settler violence against Palestinian civilians, according to the Israeli military.
MASALMEH: (Through interpreter) Our life is very confined. We're besieged. And now, with what happened, it's a bigger siege.
ESTRIN: Since the Iran war began, Israel's military has clamped down on Palestinians' movement throughout the West Bank, citing warnings of potential attacks targeting Israelis during this war. Leaving the Palestinian village, we found the road we came in on suddenly closed, gated off by the Israeli military. So we drove off-road, down a slope. Residents stood in the mud to guide us out. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Beit Awwa, in the West Bank.
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