A series of arrests and raids carried out by Israeli forces in the West Bank led to the arrest of more than 2,200 Palestinians, in addition to the killing of more than 160 Palestinians by Israeli gunfire since October 7, according to what the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced.
The arrests were concentrated in Hebron and Ramallah
The arrests were mainly concentrated in the Hebron and Ramallah governorates, but they were not limited to them and affected the entire West Bank.
The latest incursions affected Qalqilya Governorate on more than one axis, and the Palestinian News Agency says that military bulldozers and infantry teams accompanied the Israeli army during the operation, amid reconnaissance aircraft flying over the city.
Jenin also witnessed a remarkable escalation and a series of confrontations, as the Israeli army stormed the town of Arraba, south of the governorate, leading to the outbreak of confrontations that resulted in casualties.
The cities of Hebron, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem, in addition to Jericho and towns west of Ramallah, were not spared from the shifting escalation, which led to confrontations that resulted in arrests, injuries, and deaths.
Confrontations also broke out south of Bethlehem.
Israeli forces intensified their raids on Palestinian villages and cities, including the Tulkarm camp, which witnessed fierce confrontations.
The battle between the Israeli army and the residents of the West Bank is not new. Rather, it has been raging since current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his last government took power more than a year and a half ago.
In this context, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich proposed establishing security zones around settlements in the occupied West Bank to keep Palestinian farmers away during the olive harvest season, demanding the issuance of an immediate directive preventing Palestinians from approaching olive fields and their agricultural crops.
Amid fears of plans to expand settlements at the expense of seizing more Palestinian lands in the West Bank, which is gradually turning into a war front.
In this context, Professor Heinz Gärtner, professor of political science at the University of Vienna and professor at the International Peace Institute, said:
- There is an escalation of the conflict, there is no military solution, and European Union leaders have made that clear.
- There must be a political solution.
- We have to expect the conflict to continue and now what we are hearing are just warning voices from the G7 and EU representatives.
- Israel is adhering to its position and we have not yet seen a peaceful political solution.
- The G7 is interested in not escalating the conflict. There is a call for a humanitarian truce.
- The Seventh Summit issued a statement on mass displacement, and this complicates the situation.
- There must be a plan to implement the humanitarian truce, but as for a ceasefire, I do not expect it.
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