Israeli forces demolished two homes in the northern West Bank city of Qalqilya early Monday morning and arrested several students staging a sit-in at An-Najah National University in Nablus. The troops also conducted a raiding and invasion campaign throughout the West Bank territories.
Mohammed Al-Sheikh, the official responsible for the settlement file in Qalqilya governorate, stated that the demolition operation took place in the city of Qalqilya, targeting the homes of two former prisoners under the pretext of construction without obtaining necessary permits.
Al-Sheikh added that the demolition was carried out in an area recognized by the Israeli side as part of Qalqilya’s structural plan. Months prior, the owners of the houses were notified of the demolition decision, allegedly due to the lack of required permits. They appointed a lawyer and took the necessary legal actions. Nevertheless, their homes were still razed.
The Palestinian official did not rule out that the demolitions were retaliatory against the homeowners, hinting at a new policy by the Israeli right-wing government, intending to carry out demolitions swiftly, without waiting for court decisions.
With the destruction of these two properties, the total number of homes and facilities demolished by the occupation forces since the beginning of the aggression on Gaza has risen to 21.
Invasion of An-Najah University
Israeli soldiers also stormed the old campus of An-Najah National University in Nablus early Monday and arrested a number of students participating in the sit-in, marking the first Israeli incursion into the university since its siege in 1992, according to the official Palestinian News Agency (WAFA).
The Anadolu Agency reported that an eyewitness stated around 25 students had been participating in a sit-in within the university grounds for several days to advance demands regarding their university life. However, an Israeli force invaded the university, assaulted the guards, and detained the sit-in students.
The university in its statement condemned the occupation’s invasion and the arrest of several of its employees, as well as the assault on them, which resulted in significant property and building damage. The university considered this action a blatant violation of all norms and international conventions that criminalize the violation of educational institutions’ sanctity.
The university held the Israeli occupation fully responsible for the safety of its employees and students who were arrested, and announced its intention to assign its lawyers to defend the detained students.
In Nablus as well, groups of settlers attacked the outskirts of Burin village south of the city early Monday, where they assaulted a house and set a vehicle on fire.
In addition to Nablus, Israeli forces invaded several areas across the West Bank cities and towns, including the cities of Birzeit and Ramallah, the villages of Kobar and Beit Rima to their north, as well as the city of Bethlehem and Jericho, and several regions in the Hebron governorate, including the town of Yatta in the south.
Five Martyrs
On Sunday, five Palestinians were killed in the cities of Birzeit, Jericho, and Hebron by Israeli occupation forces’ gunfire.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health stated that among the martyrs were three children, two of whom were killed at the northern entrance to the city of Birzeit, with the soldiers detaining one of their bodies. The third child was slain in the Ein Sultan camp in Jericho, while the occupation forces killed two other youths in Sa’ir town northeast of Hebron.
This brings the number of individuals killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank to 352 since the beginning of the war on Gaza, which has now lasted 101 days, with 33 martyred since the start of this year.
The Ministry of Health also noted that about 4,000 Palestinians have been wounded in confrontations and attacks by the occupation forces and settlers since October 7.
Since the outbreak of the war on Gaza on October 7, the Israeli military has intensified its operations in the West Bank, increasing incursions into cities and camps, resulting in hundreds of martyrs and thousands of wounded.
Gallant considers the presence of a strong Palestinian Authority to be in Israel’s security interests (AFP)
Gallant: West Bank on the Brink of Explosion
This period of heightened tension coincides with a warning from Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant that the situation in the West Bank is on the brink of an explosion, due to the deteriorating economic conditions and the ban on Palestinian workers from the West Bank entering Israel.
Gallant issued his warnings during a meeting he chaired at the Central Command headquarters north of occupied Jerusalem, attended by senior Israeli military leaders in the West Bank.
The minister warned that Israel’s continued seizure of Palestinian tax revenues due to the Israeli government and the prohibition on Palestinian workers entering Israel could have severe repercussions.
In a subsequent press statement reported by Israeli media, Gallant accused the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) of attempting to link the war in the Gaza Strip with the West Bank and ignite a comprehensive war in the region.
He stressed that Israel is obligated to prevent this through resolving the two issues (withholding tax revenues and preventing Palestinian workers from entering Israel) because any delay could harm Israeli war objectives against Hamas in Gaza. He also considered that a powerful Palestinian Authority represents an Israeli security interest.
Military Council
Meanwhile, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, the military wing of the Fatah movement, announced the formation of a unified military council that will include resistance fighters across various affiliations under one command to manage battles with the occupation on all fronts.
Marking the anniversary of the death of their founder in Palestine, Raed al-Karmi, the Al-Aqsa Brigades reaffirmed their commitment to armed resistance and the defense of the Palestinian people.
The militant wing also called on the Palestinian Authority to cease the persecution and arrest of resistance fighters, and demanded the release of those detained by the Authority, supporting the resistance movement’s efforts.
