PA accuses Israel of waging an ‘all-out war’ on the Palestinian people to carry out ‘ethnic cleansing’ plans.
Israeli forces have killed 70 people, including 10 children, in the occupied West Bank since the start of the year, the Palestinian Ministry of Health says.
According to the ministry’s tally – released on Monday – Israel’s sweeping raids have killed 38 people in Jenin, 15 in Tubas, six in Nablus, five in Tulkarem, three in Hebron, two in Bethlehem and one in occupied East Jerusalem.
The Israeli military launched a major offensive dubbed “Iron Wall” in the territory last month, shortly after the ceasefire in Gaza. The operation is especially focused on targeting Palestinian armed groups from the Jenin area.
The ministry said that in addition to the 10 children killed, the Israeli military also killed one woman and two elderly Palestinians.
On Monday, the presidency of the Palestinian Authority (PA) condemned the Israeli attacks, stressing that Palestinians would not accept resettlement plans or an “alternative homeland”.
“The [Israeli] occupation authorities are expanding their all-out war on the Palestinian people in the West Bank to implement their plans aimed at displacing citizens and carrying out ethnic cleansing,” spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement.
He added that Israel’s policies have left hundreds of people wounded and or detained, “in addition to the destruction of entire residential blocks in the Jenin and Tulkarem refugee camps, the displacement of thousands of citizens, and massive destruction of infrastructure”.
On Sunday, Israeli forces destroyed 23 buildings in the Jenin refugee camp, in the ongoing operation which has forcibly displaced some 15,000 Palestinians from the camp.
Meanwhile, Israel’s attacks in the Tulkarem refugee camp have displaced 75 percent of Palestinians from the area, Faisal Salama, head of the Popular Committee for Services in the camp, told the Anadolu news agency.
Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, on Monday condemned the Israeli attacks.
“Since the ceasefire was implemented in Gaza, there has been an escalation of extreme violence occurring across the West Bank, particularly in Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas. This is unacceptable,” the organisation said in a post on X.
It warned that Israel’s blockade on Jenin caused by the ongoing operation is leading to a shortage of “vital” supplies.
“We have been supporting Jenin hospital with 10,000 litres of fuel and 800,000 litres of water. We also provided hygiene kits, food distribution and mattresses for Jenin and Tulkarem camps,” MSF said.
Still, Israel’s offensive in the West Bank shows no signs of slowing down. On Monday, Israeli soldiers deployed heavy armoured personnel carriers in raids in the occupied territory, indicating a push to ramp up attacks.
The Israeli escalation in the West Bank came after a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal took hold in Gaza on January 19, following 15 months of Israel’s genocidal war that reduced the enclave to rubble and killed nearly 62,000 Palestinians, including thousands who are missing and presumed dead.
Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023, Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed at least 882 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
