Injuries and Arrests in the West Bank, International Diplomatic Delegation Inspects Occupation Violations in Hebron

Various areas of the occupied West Bank witnessed a new escalation on the ground, as two Palestinian citizens were injured by Israeli occupation forces' bullets during widespread incursions. These attacks coincided with assaults carried out by groups of settlers targeting citizens' homes in the Musafir Bani Na'im area, east of Hebron.

Field sources reported that the occupation forces carried out an arrest campaign targeting at least 12 Palestinians, concentrated in the governorates of Nablus, Hebron, Tulkarm, and Ramallah. These actions come within the framework of the daily raid policy pursued by the Israeli army in Palestinian cities and towns under the pretext of security pursuit.

Regarding the incursions, Israeli forces raided the Al-Nour and Rafidia neighborhoods in Nablus city, in addition to the town of Asira al-Qibliya, where they arrested five citizens after searching their homes and tampering with their contents. Arrests also targeted five others from the town of Shuyukh and Al-Arroub refugee camp north of Hebron after similar raid operations.

At military checkpoints, occupation forces arrested a Palestinian citizen while he was passing through the Jabara military checkpoint south of Tulkarm. In the central West Bank, a military force stormed the village of Aboud northwest of Ramallah and arrested a young man from his home, raising the level of tension in the area which suffers from continuous restrictions.

Coinciding with these developments, a high-level international diplomatic delegation began a field visit to Hebron Governorate to examine the extent of Israeli violations. The delegation includes 24 consuls, ambassadors, and representatives of diplomatic missions and international organizations, including the European Union, UNRWA, and the World Food Program.

The international delegation's tour aims to observe the difficult living conditions faced by the residents of the Old City of Hebron, in light of the tightened military measures and restrictions on movement. The diplomats were briefed on the escalating humanitarian and economic challenges resulting from the policies of closure and settlement expansion surrounding the Ibrahimi Mosque.

Human rights reports indicate that Hebron city has recently been subjected to a series of repressive measures, including the imposition of curfews and the closure of streets with iron gates. Local officials believe that these practices aim to displace the indigenous population and expand the scope of Israeli control in the heart of the historic city.

In a related context, the Palestinian Prisoners' Club revealed in a recent statement that the number of prisoners in occupation prisons has exceeded 9,300 prisoners as of early February. This total includes 56 women and 350 children, living in harsh detention conditions lacking the most basic humanitarian and legal requirements.

Official statistics indicate that the occupation's attacks in the West Bank since October 2023 have resulted in a tragic reality, with 1,112 martyrs and approximately 11,500 injured. The number of recorded arrests during this period reached more than 21,000 cases, in an unprecedented escalation affecting all segments of Palestinian society.

Israel continues its settlement expansion policy in the West Bank, practices that the United Nations and international organizations describe as illegal and in violation of international law. Observers believe that this policy falls within the de facto annexation plans that the current Israeli government seeks to implement on the ground.

Popular and official concerns are growing about the occupation's exploitation of the current situation to change the geographical and demographic features in the West Bank. The Hebron area stands out as one of the most targeted areas, where settlers, with the support of the army, seek to tighten the noose on Palestinians in their residential neighborhoods.

Palestinians affirm that intensifying arrest campaigns, killings, and displacement aims to break popular will and pave the way for imposing full Israeli sovereignty. In the absence of international deterrence, these daily violations continue, turning the lives of citizens in the West Bank into a series of successive humanitarian crises.

The occupation fuels the alleged chaos in Hebron to pave the way for de facto annexation operations and the expansion of closed areas surrounding the Ibrahimi Mosque.