‘Violent and mass ethnic cleansing’ under way in West Bank: Israeli politician
Ofer Cassif, a member of the Israeli parliament, has taken to X to raise awareness over Israeli attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
“Under the smokescreen of the genocidal ethnic cleansing in Gaza, violent and mass ethnic cleansing is also taking place in the West Bank, actual destruction of many communities and several refugee camps,” he wrote.
“The world must wake up and stop the unfolding disaster NOW!” Cassif stated.
Cassif, a member of the left-wing, Arab-majority Hadash-Ta’al party, has long been a vocal critic of Israel’s abuses, including backing a petition supporting South Africa’s case of genocide against Israel held at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.
He is also strongly opposed to illegal Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territory and has protested against them.
Palestinians leave their homes for safety during a raid by the Israeli army in the Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank, on February 11
US halts funding for Palestinian security forces under aid freeze: Report
The United States plans to stop supporting the Palestinian Authority’s security forces as part of a broader freeze on foreign aid.
According to a report by The Washington Post, the funding cut by the Trump’s administration comes as the Palestinian Authority struggles to maintain security in the occupied West Bank and prepare for a potential role in governing the Gaza Strip.
Brigadier-General Anwar Rajab, spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority forces, told the Post the US was a key donor supporting security training programmes.
Despite the freeze, an unnamed former Israeli official said the US Security Coordinator’s office in West Jerusalem remains operational and “other donors have committed to make up the shortfall”.
A Palestinian Authority security training official said, however, some programmes have already been canceled and a planned meeting with US officials about security operations in Jenin has been postponed.
Israel blocks thousands of Palestinians from returning to Jenin
The Israeli army prevented thousands of displaced Palestinians from returning to their homes in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
Thousands of Palestinians gathered at the main entrance of the camp after reported calls by the Palestinian Civil Affairs Authority for residents to return.
“We gathered here at the entrance of the camp to return and see what has happened to our camp, but the Israeli army prevented us and chased us away,” Basma Masharqa, a Palestinian resident, told the Anadolu news agency.
“We know that our house had been demolished. I want to return, despite my heartbreak, just to see even the ruins. We say to the occupation: Enough! Get out of our camp. There is nothing left that you haven’t done.”
Israeli forces arrest 30 Palestinians across occupied West Bank: Prisoners’ groups
At least 30 Palestinians, including children and former prisoners, have been arrested by the Israeli army since yesterday evening until this morning, according to the Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS).
Since the beginning of the Israeli military operation in late January, the number of arrests in the city of Jenin and its refugee camp has reached 175, while in Tulkarem and its camps, at least 150, including those who were arrested and later released, the joint statement said.
“It is noteworthy that the occupation has adopted a set of policies in various areas where the aggression has escalated, especially in Jenin and its camp, as well as Tulkarm and its camps,” it said.
“The most prominent of these policies are field executions, assassinations, and systematic field investigations that have affected dozens of families, in addition to detaining citizens as hostages, and turning homes into military barracks, after forcing their owners to leave them and move to other areas,” the statement added.
“The targeting of homes was not only by turning them into military barracks, but also by demolishing and blowing up homes and burning some of them, in addition to the deliberate destruction of infrastructure.”
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