Zionist escalation ramps up in the West Bank, fuelling fears of de facto annexation
The Zionist occupation forces shot dead a 20-year-old man early on Monday in the Nour Shams camp, bringing the toll of martyrs to three, including a pregnant woman, and seven others were injured, WAFA news agency reported, citing the Ministry of Health.
The occupation forces continue the aggression on the city of Tulkarm and its two camps, Tulkarm and Nour Shams, for the 15th consecutive day, carrying out extensive raids on homes while firing live ammunition, according to WAFA, which reported hearing the sounds of huge explosions, especially in Nour Shams camp, and the destruction of infrastructure and citizens’ property.
In Tubas, WAFA correspondent reported that the occupation forces are still sending more military reinforcements from the Hamra checkpoint towards the camp, while continuing to destroy the vital infrastructure. Moreover, the occupation continues to raid citizens’ homes, destroy their belongings, and detain others.
In Jenin, the Zionist occupation’s weeks-long offensive enters its 21st days, resulting in over 25 Palestinian martyrs, dozens of injuries, and the displacement of over 20,000 residents in just a few days.
On Sunday, a small number of journalists could enter the Jenin camp’s square and reported an unprecedentedly massive decimation of infrastructure, as the occupation destroyed all the citizens’ properties, their shops, and homes, and turned the streets into squares of ruin and rubble.
The occupation’s tight sieges and the total devastation of infrastructure have deprived Palestinians of power, water, and telecommunications, along with causing a severe shortage of food, drinking water, and medicines, particularly affecting the elderly who suffer from chronic diseases. Meanwhile, hospitals are functioning at minimal capacity due to critical shortages of essential supplies.
“It felt like the same scenes from Gaza were playing out in the West Bank, especially the closure of and siege imposed on hospitals, the prevention of movement to and from the facility, and the attacks on medical staff,” said Dr. Wissam Baker, the head of Jenin Government Hospital.
Baker said that at the beginning of the Zionist offensive, the hospital, which serves a population of 370,000, was besieged and all roads leading to it were closed. “Five medics were injured, and staff, patients, and visitors were prevented from leaving the hospital. Only after intensive talks with the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations were they allowed to leave,” he said.
Since the beginning of the Zionist offensive, additional checkpoints have been established between Palestinian cities, further fragmenting the occupied West Bank and creating choke points that the occupation can shut off on a whim. Crossings that had been open 24/7 started closing during morning and evening rush hours, upturning the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
New barriers—earthen mounds, iron gates—multiplied, pushing Palestinian cars off well-paved roads and onto rutted paths through open fields.
In the same context, Palestine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced a move by the occupation’s parliament on Sunday to approve a bill to replace the term “West Bank” with “Judea and Samaria,” calling it a serious escalation aimed at annexing the occupied territory.
The ministry described the bill as “a dangerous escalation of Israel’s illegal unilateral actions, paving the way for the full annexation of the West Bank.”
On Jan. 29, the Knesset passed a preliminary reading of a bill allowing illegal settlers to register themselves as legal landowners in the occupied West Bank.
This escalation follows the ceasefire deal in Gaza on Jan. 19 after more than 15 months of genocide, which resulted in 48,189 Palestinian martyrs and 111,640 injuries, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by the Zionist occupation forces and settlers have claimed the lives of at least 910 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, according to the Health Ministry.
