Three battalions to reinforce Israeli forces in occupied West Bank: Report
Three infantry battalions will be sent to reinforce Israeli forces in the north of the occupied West Bank, Israeli media reports.
The surge in troops comes after a meeting on Monday, where the head of the Israeli internal security agency, Shin Bet, urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials to greenlight a major military expansion in the occupied West Bank.
The deployment also comes amid calls for the annexation of the Palestinian territory by ultra-far-right members of the Israeli government.
Israeli settlers open fire during attack on Palestinian village in occupied West Bank: UN
According to the latest report on violence in the occupied West Bank by the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), there were 14 incursions by Israeli settlers into the occupied West Bank that led to the injury of 18 Palestinians, mainly farmers, and included the vandalism of houses, tent shelters and vehicles.
Three settlers were also killed by armed Palestinians during the latest weeklong reporting period by OCHA, between December 31 and January 6.
In one incident, Israeli settlers, some of whom carried arms, were escorted by Israeli forces and threw stones at Palestinian farmers on the outskirts of the village of Silwad in Ramallah.
When the farmers responded, a group of settlers opened fire with live ammunition, beat Palestinians with clubs and set eight vehicles on fire.
Conditions in Jenin refugee camp deteriorate amid PA crackdown: UN
Conditions in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank are becoming increasingly dire amid a violent crackdown by the Palestinian Authority (PA) on Palestinian resistance fighters that has killed 14 people and seen 247 arrested, the UN said.
The UN’s humanitarian aid organisation (OCHA) said in its latest situation report that 650 families, amounting to around 3,400 people, are struggling to live inside the camp as shops have run out of supplies and there is “minimal” access to basic utilities such as water and electricity.
Another 2,000 families have already been displaced by the fighting from the camp to Jenin city and surrounding cities, OCHA reports.
During the reporting period from December 31 to January 6, three people, including a child and a member of the PA’s security forces, were killed in the camp.
In one incident, a man and his 14-year-old son were killed, though it remains unclear who was responsible for their shooting deaths with fighters in Jenin blaming PA security forces, who denied being in the area.
The deceased father’s 10-year-old daughter also sustained a serious neck injury from live ammunition in the same shooting incident.
Israeli special forces snatch man from street in occupied West Bank: Report
Israeli special forces have carried out another snatch operation in the occupied West Bank, according to reports. The Palestinian Media Center said that Israeli special forces snatched a young man from the Umm ash-Sharayet neighbourhood in el-Bireh city early this morning.
On Friday, an Israeli special forces unit used what appeared to be a delivery van to snatch a Palestinian man in the Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem. Israeli special forces last week used an ambulance during a raid in Nablus, where they killed an elderly Palestinian woman and a man.
Israeli forces intensify military measures around Nablus city: Report
Israeli forces have intensified military measures and imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinians around the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, according to the Wafa news agency.
Israeli forces set up checkpoints on key roads connecting Nablus with Jenin and Tubas. Troops also increased procedures at existing checkpoints and closed some of them. The new measures have caused significant traffic congestion and restricted the movement of Palestinians.
Over the last few months, Israeli forces have been imposing similar measures across the occupied West Bank, including the use of iron gates and earth barriers at town and village entrances.
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