At least eight Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank within a 24-hour period, while a fragile ceasefire in Gaza enters its third day. The surge in violence in the West Bank has been ongoing since the Hamas incursion on October 7th, followed by Israeli aggression in Gaza.
Israeli forces have reportedly killed dozens of Palestinians and arrested hundreds in the West Bank, while Jewish West Bank settlers have also increased their attacks. The Palestinian Health Ministry has confirmed that five Palestinians were killed in Jenin, a militant stronghold, while three others were killed in different areas of the West Bank since Saturday morning. Among those killed was a teenager in al-Bireh, in the central West Bank.
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The Israeli military has stated that it killed five Palestinians during an operation in the Jenin refugee camp while arresting a Palestinian suspected of killing an Israeli father and son at a West Bank car wash earlier this year. The Palestinian resistance group, Islamic Jihad, claimed one of the men as a member, but the other victims have not been immediately linked to any groups. The Israeli military has also stated that it used air power to strike and wound the allegedly armed Palestinians, without providing further details.
In the Jenin refugee camp, the streets were filled with debris and one house had a large hole in its wall. According to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, Israeli snipers were positioned on roofs, and military bulldozers were damaging roads and infrastructure. Since October 7th, Israel has tightened its control over the West Bank, closing crossings and checkpoints between Palestinian towns.
The escalation in violence in the West Bank follows over a year of increasing raids and arrests. Even before the Hamas incursion, 2023 had already become the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank in over two decades. Israel captured the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians are seeking these territories as part of their aspirations for an independent state.
