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West Bank raids intensify
Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel condemned the escalation of violence in the West Bank and called for “maximum restraint,” while reiterating the call to protect the civilian population.
“called for “maximum restraint,” while reiterating the call to protect the civilian population”
Rangel said he had “grave concern” at the deteriorating situation and that “violence by settlers and the expansion of settlements violate international law and continue to undermine the prospects for peace.”
Israeli occupation forces carried out overnight operations on Wednesday against the villages of Burin, Madama and Tell in the Nablus governorate of the southern West Bank, detaining 12 Palestinians.
The TRT World report said Israeli forces detained at least 15 Palestinians in overnight raids across the occupied West Bank, with most arrests reported in the northern governorate of Nablus.
The TRT World account added that more than 50 Israeli soldiers, backed by several military vehicles, raided the village of Al-Lubban al-Sharqiya, south of Nablus, searched dozens of homes and interrogated residents.
Detentions, settler attacks
Al Jazeera said that “At least 15 Palestinians have been detained by Israeli forces during overnight raids across the occupied West Bank,” and it paired the detentions with a UN warning that violent attacks by Israeli settlers are at an all-time high.
The TRT World report described raids in Nablus that detained 11 Palestinians from several towns and villages, plus two more detentions in Faroun and Saida in Tulkarem governorate and another in Al-Jalazone refugee camp north of Ramallah.
In the same period, TRT World said Israeli forces detained a Palestinian in Jenin after raiding his home in the city’s eastern neighbourhood and damaging its contents.
JINHAGENCY reported that the United Nations warned of rising settler violence and urged urgent international action to stop the violations, while also citing WAFA’s account that Israeli forces arrested early this morning ten Palestinians from villages including Burin, Madama, Asira al-Qibliya, and Tel south of Nablus.
JINHAGENCY quoted UN rights office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani saying, “other countries must act urgently and in a coordinated manner to stop the killings and ongoing dispossession faced by the Palestinian people.”
What’s at stake next
The teleSUR English report said the Portuguese Foreign Minister’s statement came on the same day the United Nations warned that settler violence and Israel’s territorial annexation of the West Bank “are only getting worse,” despite the International Court of Justice having declared the occupation illegal two years ago.
“are only getting worse,” despite the International Court of Justice having declared the occupation illegal two years ago”
teleSUR also said the UN warned that restrictions on Palestinian freedom of movement are preventing access to essential services, and it described the situation deteriorating sharply after clashes last week in the Nablus area left four Palestinians and two Israelis dead.
MondoWeiss framed the same escalation as reaching an “all-time high” late last week, describing settler terror across villages and towns from Nablus to Masafer Yatta and saying the Israeli army has made clear that intervening to halt settler violence is not among its functions.
MondoWeiss reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a joint statement after a settler raid on the Palestinian village of Til left four Palestinians and two Israelis dead, and it said the government rallied public opinion behind a narrative of a Palestinian “terrorist attack.”
MondoWeiss added that on Monday, Katz said he had instructed the army to prepare to raid “another refugee camp” in the West Bank, and it linked the planned operation to earlier raids that displaced more than 40,000 Palestinians who still wait to return home.
