For greater than a month, Israeli forces backed by bulldozers have been raiding Palestinian houses and destroying essential infrastructure.
Israel says it’s increasing its army offensive throughout the occupied West Financial institution and making ready for troops to stay in some refugee camps “for the following yr”.
Defence Minister Israel Katz on Sunday mentioned the military had “evacuated” three refugee camps within the northern West Financial institution and had been ordered to stay there “to stop the return of [Palestinian] residents”.
“To date, 40,000 Palestinians have evacuated from the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams, which at the moment are empty of residents,” he mentioned in a press release.
“I’ve instructed [soldiers] to arrange for a chronic presence within the cleared camps for the following yr and to stop the return of residents and the resurgence of terrorism,” he added.
For greater than a month, Israeli forces have been raiding Palestinian houses and utilizing bulldozers to destroy essential infrastructure. The assaults have largely centered on Jenin and Tulkarem.
The Israeli military mentioned tanks have been deployed in Jenin for the primary time within the West Financial institution because the finish of the second Intifada, or rebellion, in 2005.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, condemned the choice to deploy tanks within the northern West Financial institution.
“It is a harmful Israeli escalation that won’t result in stability or calm, and we warn of this harmful escalation,” he mentioned.
Since January 19 when the Israel-Hamas ceasefire got here into impact within the Gaza Strip, Jenin and its adjoining refugee camp have been beneath Israeli siege and no less than 27 Palestinians have been killed there.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the army to hold out an “intensive” operation within the West Financial institution after explosions on Thursday on empty buses close to Tel Aviv in what Netanyahu’s workplace described as an tried mass assault.
No casualties have been reported within the explosions, and no group has claimed duty.
In the meantime, the Palestinian information company Wafa reported that Israeli military and settler assaults additionally continued on Sunday throughout the West Financial institution.
In Nablus, no less than eight individuals have been arrested throughout Israeli raids whereas two others have been taken into custody at Beit Hanina, a neighbourhood in northern East Jerusalem.
Israeli bulldozers additionally destroyed electrical strains and waterlines within the city of Qabatiya, south of Jenin, Wafa mentioned, including that Israeli troopers once more arrange a army checkpoint on the entrance to al-Issawiya, one other neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem.
Israel has killed greater than 800 Palestinians within the West Financial institution because the battle in Gaza erupted on October 7, 2023.
