Israel continues siege of West Bank for 8th day

Israel forces have continuing their siege against cities and towns in the occupied West Bank on Friday. The siege imposed on the Hebron Governorate entered its eighth day, marked by an escalation in military raids, arrests, and attacks by settlers, alongside ongoing forced displacements and the destruction of Palestinian property. Israeli occupation forces deployed significant military reinforcements, accompanied by engineering units, to the Deir Bahha area, west of Hebron, via the city’s northern entrance near Farsh al-Hawa. This comes as the entrances to the governorate, as well as the al-Jalda and Deir Bahha areas, remain closed. Occupation forces continued to raid and search homes, damaging their contents. They also stormed several neighborhoods in the city of Hebron and the village of al-Rihiya to the south, detaining three Palestinians, including a former prisoner who had been released just the day before, on Thursday. According to the Palestinian news agency “Wafa,” the arrests were linked to the homecoming celebrations held by the former prisoner’s family, and those detained were subjected to physical assault by the forces. Displacements Official data indicates that 537 families, comprising 3,361 Palestinians, have been displaced from the al-Jalda and Deir Bahha areas due to military operations and ongoing closures, while vast areas remain under siege and subject to daily raids. Local sources estimate the economic losses resulting from the closure of Hebron at between 10 and 12 million shekels per day. The sieges have also disrupted the education of approximately 262,000 students across 589 schools in the governorate. In Tulkarm, occupation forces arrested four Palestinians following raids on homes in the towns of Kafr Sur and Kafr Abbush, south of the city. These forces have continued their incursions into various parts of the West Bank, accompanied by search operations, field interrogations, and the detention of Palestinians. Settler attacks Attacks by settlers on Palestinian villages and communities have also escalated. A Palestinian man sustained bruises and wounds after being beaten in the town of Burqa, northwest of Nablus. These attacks also targeted families in Mas’udiya and Yasid, while farmers in the town of Beit ar-Rush al-Fuqa were prevented from accessing their land. Additionally, an agricultural structure was set on fire in Masafer Yatta, and numerous Palestinians were subjected to assaults in other areas—all occurring alongside ongoing restrictions imposed on farmers during the olive harvest season. Hamas said that the ongoing aggression against Hebron and other cities and towns in the West Bank represents an escalation of Israel’s policy of collective punishment and forced displacement. It stressed that the demolition of homes, destruction of property, and targeting of residential neighborhoods will not break the will of the Palestinian people. The Hamas movement called upon the international community, the United Nations, and human rights and humanitarian organizations to take urgent action to halt military operations and violations in the West Bank.