‘The last thing we want to see is a Palestinian killing a Palestinian’: Barghouti
Mustafa Barghouti, the secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, spoke to Al Jazeera about the Palestinian Authority’s operations in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
“There is no justification for this escalation, and I think the last thing that Palestinians need is now a violent confrontation between Palestinians and Palestinians,” he said.
“We have a big number of political parties, civil society structures, human rights organisations that have interfered and is trying to mediate to end this situation” he said. “All of those who are harmed are our sons, our people, whether they are on the authority side or they are on the resistance side”.
“This is happening while Israel is conducting hundreds of attacks on us … attacks by the Israeli army and attacks by … settlers”. “If it continues, it will only serve the interest of the Israeli occupation,” he said.
Palestinian Authority security forces use tear gas to disperse a protest against their security operation in Jenin on December 16
Israel demolished over 12,000 structures in West Bank since 2009: UN report
More than 12,000 structures have been demolished by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank since 2009, according to a report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The hardest-hit areas include Khirbet Tana, Jabal Mukaber, and Silwan, which saw 400, 373, and 274 demolitions, respectively, said the OCHA’s report, entitled Breakdown of Data on Demolition and Displacement in the West Bank.
The report revealed that demolitions targeted 3,553 agricultural structures and 3,547 residential buildings. The year 2024 marked a peak, with 1,763 incidents recorded – the highest in 16 years.
Children and families remain particularly vulnerable, according to OCHA. The displaced individuals included 5,358 boys, 4,324 girls, 5,462 men and 4,791 women.
OCHA also reported that nearly 1,800 donor-funded structures were demolished, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the region, where access to essential services continues to deteriorate.
These figures highlight the urgent need for international action to address the impact of ongoing demolitions and displacements in the West Bank.
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