Palestinian Foreign Ministry says Israeli tanks ‘grave escalation’ in West Bank
In a statement shared on X, the ministry said deploying tanks in the occupied West Bank is a continuation of Israel’s “genocide, displacement and annexation”.
It said the tanks, alongside the forcible displacement of 40,000 Palestinians and Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz saying that Palestinians would not be able to return to their homes, represented a “grave escalation”.
“The Ministry renews its urgent calls on the international community to intervene immediately to curb Israel’s unchecked aggression,” the statement added.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Israel’s Deployment of Tanks Is a Systematic Continuation of #Genocide, #Displacement, and #Annexation
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates warns of the Israeli occupation army’s deployment of heavy tanks around Jenin, viewing it as a… pic.twitter.com/b8q4MFvL4i
— State of Palestine - MFA 🇵🇸🇵🇸 (@pmofa) February 23, 2025
Hamas condemns Israel’s operations in occupied West Bank
The Palestinian group says Israel’s decision to expand its operations in Jenin governorate and other parts of the northern occupied West Bank reveals its “dangerous intention to persist [in] the war of extermination”.
Hamas also called for a “unified front” against “Israel’s forced displacement campaigns” that have affected more than 40,000 residents from the Jenin, Tulkarem, Nur Shams and Far’a refugee camps.
The group also dismissed a statement by Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz – who said the Israeli army will stay in the West Bank’s refugee camps for the next year – as “an illusion that will not come true”.
Brazil urges Israel to stop military raids on occupied West Bank
The Foreign Ministry of Brazil has expressed “deep concern” over the “intensification, in recent weeks, of Israeli military operations in the refugee camps” of Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams in the northern occupied West Bank.
In a statement, it condemned “the recent use of tanks and military occupation” and denounced “the forced displacement of approximately 40,000 residents from these camps, in violation of international law and international humanitarian law”.
The ministry stressed the need for uninterrupted humanitarian aid in the region, urging Israel to allow UNRWA to continue its mission “for the benefit of the refugee population”.
Referencing a 2024 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice, which deemed Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful, it also demanded an end to military operations.
“Brazil urges Israel to fully suspend its military operations in the West Bank,” the statement said.
Footage shows more destruction in West Bank town of Burqin
As we reported earlier, the Israeli military destroyed a main intersection in the occupied West Bank town of Burqin, west of Jenin, overnight. New footage emerging from the town, published by the Quds News Network, shows puddles forming after Israeli forces tore up roads with heavy machinery.
The Israeli army destroyed infrastructure last night during a raid into the town of Burqin, west of Jenin. pic.twitter.com/hW1bUiAemH
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) February 24, 2025
Israel arrests two Palestinians in central West Bank: Report
Two men have been arrested at dawn during Israeli army raids in the Ramallah and el-Bireh governorate, according to the Wafa news agency.
Local sources told Wafa that a 19-year-old was taken by Israeli forces when they stormed his home in the town of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah city. A 48-year-old Palestinian man was also arrested in the town of Kobar, located in the northwest of the governorate, the agency added.
