Gaza: Tensions are rising again across the occupied West Bank as Israeli soldiers launched new military raids and settler violence escalated in multiple Palestinian communities, according to reports.
Early Monday, Israeli troops stormed the Askar al-Jadid refugee camp in the northern city of Nablus, arresting two young Palestinian men. Residents say the raid involved armed soldiers breaking into homes, a tactic increasingly common in the region amid a broader surge in Israeli military operations across the West Bank since the Gaza war escalated in October 2023.
In Hebron, illegal settler expansion continued unchecked as Israeli settlers set up new mobile homes near the unauthorized outpost “Mitzpe Ziv,” built on land belonging to the Palestinian village of Berin. The move comes amid growing alarm from rights groups that Israel is using the war in Gaza as cover for accelerated annexation and settlement activity in the West Bank.
Elsewhere, in Salfit, settlers were seen setting fire to Palestinian agricultural lands in the town of Haris, destroying crops and igniting panic among local farmers. In Jericho, Israeli soldiers reportedly shot and killed a young Palestinian man, adding to a soaring West Bank death toll that has climbed steadily over the past months.
The ongoing violence reflects a broader pattern of Israeli settler militancy operating with impunity, often under the protection or coordination of the military. Human rights organizations including B’Tselem and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly warned that such attacks — including land grabs, home demolitions, arson, and physical assaults — amount to state-backed ethnic cleansing of Palestinian communities.
Since October 2023, over hundreds of Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by either Israeli forces or settlers, with thousands more arrested, injured, or displaced. Meanwhile, settlements, considered illegal under international law, continue to grow, solidifying what observers describe as a de facto annexation strategy.
Despite mounting global condemnation, including warnings from the UN and EU diplomats, Israeli authorities have shown no signs of slowing settlement expansion or reining in settler violence. Instead, the military has ramped up operations across the West Bank under the banner of security, while allowing settlers to take over land and displace Palestinian families with virtual immunity.
