The Israeli occupation forces continued their aggression on Tulkarem city and its camp for the 130th consecutive day, and on Nur Shams camp for the 117th day, amid a wide-scale field escalation of house raids and abductions of Palestinians.
A Wafa news correspondent reported that last night, the Israeli occupation forces launched a campaign of raids on dozens of homes in the Aktaba suburb, east of Tulkarm, which lasted for 7 continuous hours, targeting more than 40 homes and shops, accompanied by deliberate vandalism of the contents of the homes, theft of sums of money, physical assaults, and field investigations against a number of citizens.
Basel Adra with the Israeli +972 Magazine writes that “In Nur Shams and Tulkarem, Israeli incursions leave ‘nothing to salvage’. Since January, the army has depopulated the two West Bank camps and destroyed hundreds of homes, while turning others into barracks.”
The raids were concentrated in several neighborhoods within the suburbs, most notably the vicinity of the Roundabout, the Council, the old neighborhood (Harat Al-Mukhtar), and the southern neighborhood. The main street in front of the Aktaba Taxi office was closed, in addition to the seizure of surveillance camera recordings from a pharmacy in the center of the suburb .
During the raid, the Israeli occupation forces arrested Mahmoud Nael Abu Attia, Ali Muhammad Qazli, and Aws Hadi Marouh, who were later released. They also assaulted the brothers Musab and Moataz Mahmoud Melhem after raiding their home, vandalizing its contents, and stealing 3,000 shekels.
This morning, Israeli occupation forces raided a number of homes in various neighborhoods of the city, including the Da’bas complex on the street of the Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital. They removed the main gate and the doors of the residential apartments, forcing the residents to leave and interrogating them, before arresting former prisoner Saleh Barqawi .
The Israeli occupation forces also raided the Abu Shanab family home in the eastern neighborhood, arresting two young men whose identities are not yet known. They also raided the home of the family of deceased Palestinian Abdullah Da’bas in the Shuweika suburb north of the city, completely destroying its contents and smashing and vandalizing pictures of the deceased man.
In a related context, the city and its suburbs are witnessing, around the clock, intensive movements of Israeli occupation vehicles and infantry squads, as they patrol the main streets and neighborhoods, obstructing the movement of citizens and vehicles, sounding their horns in a provocative manner, and driving in the opposite direction, in addition to setting up sudden flying checkpoints, especially in the middle of the market and Nablus Street, and exposing citizens to being stopped, searched, interrogated and abused.
Yesterday, the Israeli occupation bulldozers continued to demolish homes in the middle of Nour Shams camp, a continuation of the demolition of residential buildings carried out over the past few weeks, which resulted in the demolition of more than 20 buildings, as part of an Israeli plan to demolish 106 buildings in the city’s two camps (58 in Tulkarm camp, and 48 in Nour Shams), with the aim of opening roads and changing the geographical features of the two camps .
At the same time, the occupation forces continue to impose a tight siege on the Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps and their surroundings, deploying in alleys, neighborhoods, and entrances, preventing residents from reaching their homes to check on them or retrieve their belongings, and firing directly at anyone who attempts to approach .
Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation forces continue to seize a number of residential buildings on Nablus Street and the city’s northern neighborhood, after forcibly evacuating their residents and converting them into military barracks. Some of these buildings have been under occupation control for more than three months .
Nablus Road, which connects the Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps, has also suffered extensive damage due to earth mounds placed by the occupation forces several months ago, impeding vehicle movement and increasing the suffering of citizens .
This ongoing aggression has so far resulted in the deaths of 13 civilians, including a child and two women, one of whom was eight months pregnant. Dozens of injuries and arrests have also been reported, as well as widespread destruction of infrastructure, homes, shops, and vehicles .
According to the latest data, the escalation has displaced more than 5,000 families from the two camps, representing over 25,000 citizens, and has completely destroyed at least 400 homes, while 2,573 others have been partially damaged. Meanwhile, the entrances to the two camps remain blocked with barriers, transforming them into almost lifeless areas .
