Four Palestinians died this Wednesday in clashes with Israeli security forces during an arrest operation in the occupied West Bank, in a new day of violence in the region, which has been experiencing a significant spike in tension for weeks.
West Bank occupied maintains a state of tension this Thursday after the death this Wednesday of four Palestinians in armed clashes with Israeli security forces, in the most violent day of the year in the areawhere multiple incidents were recorded in various places that lasted until dawn.
Although the deadly armed clashes triggered the previous day by an Israeli arrest operation in the Jenin refugee camp calmed down after the funeral of the four dead Palestinians, the violence in the West Bank has not ceased and threatens to continue.
During the afternoon, more than 20 Palestinians were injured in an attack by Israeli settlers against Palestinian residents of the town of Madama, in the north of the West Bank, according to the official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, which specified that three Palestinians were arrested.
Shortly before midnight, the Israeli army reported a Palestinian firearm attack on an Israeli vehicle south of the West Bank city of Hebron. The incident caused no injuries and a military spokesman reported that they were looking for those responsible.
As early as dawn, Israeli troops carried out an arrest operation in the town of Dura, also near Hebron, which sparked clashes with local youths and left three Palestinians wounded by gunshots, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
In parallel, the Israeli Army, the Police and the Internal Security Service (Shin Bet) carried out multiple raids during the night in different parts of the West Bank territory, which culminated in the arrest of seven Palestinians suspected of being “involved in terrorist activities”.
This morning, some of the main Palestinian cities woke up with most of the shops closed and almost all their activity paralyzed, in the framework of a general strike to protest against the recent episodes of violence.
international calls
On the other hand, both the European Union and the United States Department of State called on Israelis and Palestinians to stop the spiral of violence in the region and appealed for moderation on the part of all the actors involved.
According to Israeli media, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would have requested a call with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid – with whom he has not had direct contact since he took office – to address this new wave of violence.
This series of incidents is not isolated but takes place in a context of growing tension in the area, marked by incessant Israeli raids in the West Bank and an increase in Palestinian attacks against military targets or Israeli settlers in recent weeks.
The Israeli raids began six months ago, triggered by a series of attacks by Palestinians or Arab-Israelis on Israeli soil in which 18 people were killed, including three in the Tel Aviv attack in April.
These raids, and the clashes with local militants that often result, have already left nearly a hundred Palestinians dead and more than 2,000 arrested.
So far this year, the number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank alone exceeds 100, a number not recorded since 2015 in that territory.