Widespread Israeli escalation in the West Bank: Arrests target 16 citizens and demolition notices for agricultural facilities in the Jordan Valley

The Israeli occupation authorities have escalated their violations in the occupied West Bank, carrying out a series of incursions and raids targeting citizens' properties and agricultural lands. Field sources reported that the occupation army gave farmers in the village of Bardala in the Northern Jordan Valley only one week to remove their agricultural greenhouses, threatening the primary source of livelihood for dozens of Palestinian families in the area.

The Northern Jordan Valley is considered one of the main pillars of the Palestinian food basket, but the occupation seeks to confiscate large areas of it under the pretext of its proximity to the Bisan crossing and the apartheid wall. Despite residents' affirmation of their private ownership of these lands, Israeli policies aim to tighten the noose on them to push them towards forced displacement from their historical lands.

In a related context, occupation forces launched a widespread arrest campaign during the night and morning hours, targeting 16 Palestinian citizens from various areas. Prisoner institutions confirmed that the arrests focused on the governorates of Qalqilya, Nablus, Ramallah and Al-Bireh, Tulkarm, and Jerusalem, and included a girl, released prisoners, and children, amid searches and deliberate destruction of household contents.

These field movements coincided with a state of Palestinian and international anger over reports of US intentions to provide services within Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Political circles considered these steps a clear attempt to legitimize illegal settlement outposts and strengthen the occupation's grip on the occupied territories in flagrant violation of international law.

The cities of Tulkarm, Qalqilya, Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem witnessed violent night incursions, accompanied by field confrontations and interrogations with local residents. Local sources explained that the occupation forces deliberately terrorized families during the raids, as part of the policy of collective punishment they pursue daily against Palestinian villages and refugee camps.

Regarding demolition and confiscation, the occupation authorities issued official notices to demolish 12 agricultural facilities and confiscate about 65 dunams of land in the eastern part of the West Bank. Dozens of families depend on these facilities as their sole source of income, and their owners confirm that they were built on private land many years before the construction of the apartheid wall in those areas.

Observers and activists believe that this escalation complements the increasing attacks by settlers on Palestinian villages, which often occur under the direct protection of the occupation army. Activists confirm that there is a political green light given to settlement groups to carry out organized attacks aimed at displacing Palestinians and expanding the settlement area at the expense of the future Palestinian state's lands.

Residents of Bardala village refuse to comply with eviction notices and insist on remaining on their lands, which constitute their sole source of livelihood.