Tensions Escalate in West Bank with Increased Zionist Regime Military Operations Amid Palestinians’ Resistance

In the early hours of Friday, Israeli forces initiated a large-scale raid and arrest operation throughout the West Bank. The operation encountered armed resistance in Jenin, where Palestinian fighters reportedly targeted a military vehicle with an explosive device.

A broad military operation spanning the areas from Nablus to Ramallah and Tulkarem led to the apprehension of at least 22 Palestinians. This operation also resulted in a pregnant woman and her father-in-law being hospitalized after their residence was reportedly set on fire by Israeli grenades.

Local reports indicate that Israeli military vehicles entered several neighborhoods in Nablus, forcefully entering the Askar and Balata refugee camps, along with the villages of Zawata and Kafr Qalil. The forces carried out extensive searches, disrupting homes and alarming local residents.

In the town of Beit Rima, located to the north of Ramallah, a violent raid unfolded as Israeli occupation forces deployed stun and tear gas grenades into a family residence, resulting in a fire. A pregnant woman and her father-in-law experienced severe inhalation of tear gas and were subsequently rushed to a hospital for urgent medical attention.

The incursion faced resistance as the Al-Quds Brigades, the military branch of the Islamic Jihad movement, reported that its Jenin Battalion operatives successfully detonated a pre-planned explosive device underneath a heavily armored Israeli Namer vehicle during an Israeli Defense Forces incursion into the town of Al-Yamoun, located northwest of Jenin.

The Brigades have issued a statement declaring that their combatants are currently involved in “intense clashes with enemy forces across various fronts.” They further detailed that their strategy involves “targeting infantry units with concentrated bursts of direct gunfire, responding as required by battlefield conditions.”

Recent military operations in the West Bank have seen a significant escalation as Israeli forces intensify their activities, coinciding with the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip. The level of violence has markedly increased following developments in October 2023.

Official Palestinian statistics indicate that over 1,040 Palestinians have lost their lives, and more than 9,000 have been injured in the West Bank during this period, due to operations by Israeli forces and an increase in settler attacks. This data highlights a dire reality of life under occupation.