On Tuesday, July 8, Israeli soldiers and paramilitary settlers launched numerous attacks on Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
This is in addition to the ongoing Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, in which over 40 people were killed on Tuesday alone.
In the West Bank, Israeli forces are pushing deeper into Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps and driving people out of their homes. Some have been given just hours to collect lifetime’s belongings; soldiers shoot at anyone who tries to return.
All three camps are now off-limits. Tens of thousands of Palestinians were displaced, and they fear they will return to a completely different camp than the one they left.
Experts say this is the largest Israeli home demolition in West Bank since 1967. So far, more than 690 homes were completely demolished in Jenin, and 340 more are in the process of being demolished. In Tulkarem, 285 homes were fully destroyed and 400 more are targeted. In Nur Shams, 225 homes were leveled to the ground.
The following attacks by Israeli forces and by Israeli paramilitary settlers were documented by local sources on Tuesday:
8:50 pm
Israeli occupation forces stormed on Tuesday evening the town of Al-Khader, south of Bethlehem.
Local sources told Wafa news that the occupation forces stormed Al-Khader and took up positions in the Abu Sura neighborhood in the gate area on the main road (Jerusalem-Hebron), without any reports of house raids or abductions.
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Tuesday seized lands in Al-Khader town, south of Bethlehem .
Hassan Breijieh, a researcher on wall and settlement affairs, told WAFA that the occupation forces seized 6 dunams in the Ain al-Qaisis area, west of the town, with the aim of expanding the Sidi Bouaz settlement outpost, which had previously consumed approximately 100 dunams of agricultural land .
Brejieh added that the expansion of the colonial outpost means that this is just the beginning of the Israeli colonization in the area, which will lead to increased attacks by colonists, and deprive farmers of access to their lands.
7:25 pm
Israeli occupation forces stormed, on Tuesday evening, the town of Beita and the village of Qaryut, south of Nablus .
Local sources reported that several occupation vehicles stormed the two towns, roamed their streets, and fired sound bombs and tear gas, without any injuries being reported .
7:20 pm
Israeli occupation forces stormed, on Tuesday evening, Wadi al-Far’a, south of Tubas .
Local sources reported that the occupation forces stormed Wadi al-Far’a, raided and searched a house in the area, but no abductions were reported.
7:17 pm
Israeli paramilitary settlers renewed their attacks on citizens in the village of Shallalat al-Auja, north of Jericho, amid growing fears of attempts to forcefully displace the residents of the area .
A Wafa news correspondent reported that settlers stormed the village and grazed their livestock among the residents’ homes, in a provocative move that sparked fear among the residents.
Hassan Malihat, general supervisor of the Al-Baidar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights, said that the recurrence of these attacks could be a prelude to the forced displacement of population centers in the Jordan Valley. He called on the international community to provide protection for the residents and take measures to stop these ongoing violations .
3:24 pm
Israeli settlers on Tuesday stole a donkey from a Palestinian citizen in the Masafer Yatta area, south of Hebron, and vandalized Palestinian crops.
Anti-settlement activist Osama Makhamreh told WAFA that heavily armed settlers from the settlement of Mitzpeir, under the protection of occupation soldiers, stole the donkey of farmer Jaber Awad in Khirbet Aqwawis in Masafer Yatta. They released a large number of sheep near citizens’ homes and fruit trees, damaging a number of them. They also seized a number of water wells and prevented citizens from the Abu Aram al-Na’ameen family from reaching them .
Israeli bulldozers demolish a fifth home in the village of Shuqba, west of Ramallah, having demolished four homes earlier this morning.
Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank face systematic displacement under the pretext of lacking building permits, permits that are nearly impossible for Palestinians to obtain.
Israeli occupation authorities demolish the Burqan family’s home in the occupied Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, citing construction without Israeli permission as a pretext.
1:12 pm
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested two young men on Tuesday at Ein Siniya military checkpoint, built on Palestinian lands north of Ramallah.
Local sources reported that the occupation forces abducted two young men, whose identities have not yet been determined, as they passed through the aforementioned checkpoint.
1:00 pm
For the third consecutive day, Israeli settlers continue to attack shepherds in the village of Al-Minya, southeast of Bethlehem.
The head of the Minya village council, Zayed Kawazba, told our correspondent that the settlers’ attacks are continuing. Today, they attacked a number of shepherds in the eastern region, specifically “Khalayel al-Qasr,” preventing them from staying and forcing them to leave at gunpoint.
He added that such attacks coincide with long-standing attacks in the Minya desert, including the demolition and burning of tents and the seizure of wheat and barley crops, which threaten to depopulate the area and create new colonial outposts.
12:51 pm
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) abducted a child from Al-Khader town, south of Bethlehem.
A local source told a Wafa news correspondent that the occupation forces arrested the child Ali Ahmed Al-Masry (15 years old), after he reported to their intelligence office in the Gush Etzion settlement complex, which is located on citizens’ lands.
12:17 pm
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) abducted a Palestinian citizen from Barta’a town in Jenin district on Tuesday.
Barta’a Municipality told Wafa that Israeli occupation forces arrested citizen Muhammad Saleh Qabha after raiding his home, searching it, and ransacking its contents.
The Israeli occupation forces have intensified their arrest campaigns in the villages of Jenin Governorate, beginning with the start of the aggression on the city of Jenin and its camp on January 21.
4:00 am
Israeli occupation forces storm the town of Anza south of Jenin in the occupied West Bank.
Day 163 of Tulkarem Siege:
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) continued, on Tuesday, demolishing residential buildings in Tulkarm refugee camp, coinciding with the 163rd consecutive day of their aggression on the camp and the city.
A Wafa news correspondent reported that the occupation forces’ bulldozers demolished a number of residential buildings in the Abu al-Foul neighborhood, following yesterday’s demolition operations in the al-Murabba’a neighborhood. This was part of a new plan to demolish 104 buildings, including 400 homes, and at the same time, it was a continuation of the demolition operations carried out in recent days in several neighborhoods in the camp.
Last Sunday, the occupation authorities announced their intention to begin implementing large-scale demolition orders in the Tulkarm refugee camp starting yesterday, defying an earlier Israeli Supreme Court decision to freeze these orders.
This morning, Palestinian Red Crescent Society crews and volunteers were able to enter Tulkarm camp to remove the remaining belongings of the residents.
In the same context, the camp and its surroundings witnessed a state of extreme tension, as the occupation forces fired a barrage of sound bombs as they pursued a number of journalists and residents from the Abu al-Foul neighborhood to the eastern neighborhood of the city adjacent to the camp, amid a state of panic among the citizens.
Last Sunday, the occupation army allowed a number of families who had been unable to evacuate their homes earlier to enter the camp to remove their belongings. The families included 54 homes listed for demolition, amidst strict measures that included harassment, detention, obstruction of the evacuation process, and the firing of live ammunition at residents.
The Nour Shams camp has also witnessed a military escalation, amidst the aggression and tight siege imposed by the occupation forces for the 150th consecutive day. This coincides with the widespread deployment of military vehicles and infantry units, which have turned civilian homes into military barracks after forcing their residents to evacuate, and which fire live ammunition at anyone who attempts to approach the camp.
This escalation is represented by the occupation’s deliberate burning of homes, following the widespread demolition of dozens of residential buildings over the past few days. This is part of an Israeli plan to demolish 106 buildings in the Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps, including 48 buildings demolished in Nur Shams alone, causing widespread destruction. Wide streets were also created and opened, separating neighborhoods from each other.
The occupation’s escalation has led to the forced displacement of more than 5,000 families from the Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps, representing over 25,000 citizens. The destruction of more than 600 homes has been completely destroyed, and 2,573 homes have been partially damaged. The entrances to the two camps remain closed with earth mounds, transforming them into lifeless areas.
