Israeli forces carry out arrest campaigns against the Palestinians to advance Israeli colonisation of the West Bank (Pic: Flikr/ Yossi Gurvitz)
While Israel refuses to end its genocide in Gaza, it is continuing its project of ethnic cleansing in the West Bank.
On Wednesday, justice minister Yariv Levin says the current times offer Israel a “historic opportunity”.
“The time for sovereignty has come, the time to apply sovereignty. My position on this matter is firm, it is clear.”
Israel has been ramping up its destruction of Jenin and Tulkarem, destroying hundreds of homes with bulldozers.
On Tuesday morning in the Aktaba suburb, just east of Tulkarem, Israeli soldiers arrested two Palestinians—and did so while using a child as a human shield.
Israeli forces also stormed the Dheisheh refugee camp, south of Bethlehem.
At the same time, Israeli occupation forces carried out an arrest campaign in Hebron, arresting at least 11 Palestinians and closing off several town entrances and main roads.
And Israeli forces have made five more arrests in the northwest of Ramallah, with another three in Nablus.
The spate of arrests adds to the over 4,700 arrests in the West Bank since 7 October 2023.
But as the Israeli military takes Palestinians hostage to advance Israeli colonisation of the West Bank, Palestinians are subject to brutal violence. Israeli settlers regularly attack Palestinians with the support of Israeli forces.
Last week, settlers and the Israeli military attacked the village of Kafr Malik, near Ramallah, twice. Last Wednesday, around 50 masked settlers rampaged through the village, setting fire to homes and vehicles.
Under the protection of the Israeli military, the settlers and soldiers killed three Palestinians.
But even the Israeli military can’t fully control the colonial violence.
According to Israeli media reports, dozens of settlers defied a military order to leave a closed military zone. In response, the military arrested six individuals, prompting a confrontation between the settlers and security forces leading to soldiers firing live rounds.
Following the confrontation, far right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said, “The IDF and the settlers are one.
“Anyone who raises his hand against IDF fighters is fighting against the settlements, not for it. Still, firing live ammunition at Jews is forbidden and dangerous.”
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