TEHRAN- The Israeli army and settlers have escalated brutal violence in the occupied West Bank since the ceasefire in Gaza went into effect at the weekend.
Israeli strikes on the city of Jenin on Tuesday killed several Palestinians and injured dozens of others.According to the Wafa news agency, Israeli forces also arrested 18 Palestinians in towns near Hebron and Tulkarem.Reports also said the Israeli army has set up checkpoints and closed roads, preventing people from entering or leaving cities, towns and villages across the West Bank.On Monday, Israeli settlers set vehicles and properties of Palestinians in the West Bank on fire under the protection of the regimes troops, wounding more than 20 Palestinians.
Israeli settlers' assaults occurred concurrently with the signing of an order by President Donald Trump on Monday, which aims to lift US sanctions imposed on them in the occupied West Bank.An Israeli rights group said settlers are acting in full cooperation with the Israeli army.BTselem touched upon the ulterior motives lurking behind the settler attacks against the backdrop of the implementation of the ceasefire in Gaza.It said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that settlers want to impose a price tag for the release of Palestinians from Israeli prisons.Meanwhile, the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement condemned the settler attacks.The escalation of settler terrorism underscores the urgent need for our heroic people across all governorates of the West Bank to rise in a sweeping wave of anger to deter the settlers and repel their terrorist attacks, Hamas said in a statement.The resistance movement said the settler violence, in concert with Israeli military campaigns, will not succeed in pushing our people to give up their land and rights and rather, it will lead to further steadfastness and defiance, according to Al Jazeera.The UN chief also expressed deep concern about an existential threat to the integrity and contiguity of Gaza and the West Bank due to Israeli actions and unabated illegal settlement expansion.Antonio Guterres, who was addressing a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, added that senior Israeli officials openly speak of formally annexing all or part of the West Bank in the coming months.
Any such annexation would constitute a most serious violation of international law.On Monday, Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi ordered his troops to prepare for large-scale operations in the West Bank.Alongside enhanced defensive preparations in the Gaza Strip, we must be ready for significant operations in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) in the coming days, Halevi said in a statement.Halevis statement has spotlighted Israels plans to annex the entire West Bank as Trump begins his four-year presidency.In November last year, the Israeli finance minister said he believed Israel could work with Trump to promote annexation of the West Bank.In the same month, he posted a message on X to push for Israels sovereignty over the West Bank.2025: the year of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, Smotrich wrote on X, using the biblical name by which Israel refers to the occupied West Bank.Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967.
Over the past years, it has expanded settlements in the Palestinian territory.
All Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law.But Israel has failed to crush the Palestinian resistance against the occupation.Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, and was forced to reach a ceasefire deal with Hamas after its military ambitions in the enclave fell through.
The truce was reached a week ago andwent into effect on Sunday after Israel butchered more than 47,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including 17,800 children.Besides, Israeli forces and settlers have killed more than 800 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza conflict.The ceasefire in Gaza has highlighted Israels failure to meet its objectives which mainly include the eradication of Hamas.Israel is now ramping up attacks in the West Bank in a desperate attempt to sweep its military failures in Gaza under the rug.