Israeli forces launched their most intense raids yet on towns in the occupied West Bank as they continued one of the largest incursions into the territory since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October.
At least one person was killed after Israeli troops launched a coordinated night attack on 10 towns, including Hebron, Halhul, Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarem, el-Bireh, Jericho and notably the center of Ramallah, which is the administrative headquarters of the Palestinian Authority.
The raids, which continued until the early hours of Thursday morning, targeted Palestinian currency exchange offices.
“It was a raid like we had never seen in the center of Ramallah, like no other. Since October 7, we have not seen a raid of this scale,” said Tel Aviv Tribune’s Imran Khan, reporting from near the scene on Thursday.
He said the “unprecedented” raid began at 1 a.m. Thursday (2300 GMT Wednesday) and lasted about four hours, with “at least 20 vehicles” entering Ramallah.
Israeli forces used tear gas and stun grenades to clear a street, then blocked the area, before resorting to a “controlled explosion” to enter a currency exchange office, Khan added.
The Palestinian Monetary Authority said Israeli forces attacked the headquarters of six foreign exchange companies under its control in the occupied West Bank at dawn.
“The Israelis arrested a number of owners of these companies and seized sums of money from their safes, after blowing them up,” he said in a statement, adding that he considered the The attack “as an act that violates all international norms, laws and laws. charters and agreements, and aims to undermine confidence in the Palestinian banking system and banking sector.”
$2.5 million seized
According to Khan, three of the stores raided were in Ramallah.
“The Israelis claim that (currency exchanges) were used by the resistance movements to finance their activities,” he said.
“In total, they seized approximately $2.5 million during these raids. »
At the same time, violent clashes broke out in al-Manara Square, in the center of Ramallah. One person was shot and killed and at least 15 others were injured during clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians.
“We treated and transported four injured Palestinians who were shot in the chest, shoulder, leg and sensitive areas with .223 caliber bullets,” Majd Omar, a rescuer, told Tel Aviv Tribune of the Palestinian Society for Life in Ramallah.
He said they were able to transport some of the injured to hospital while others were transported by the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS).
The PRCS said a Palestinian was injured after being shot by Israeli forces in the city of Nablus. Nine people were injured in another raid on the town of Halhul, where two people were arrested, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported.
“Deliberately provoking the Palestinians”
Although Israeli raids are not unusual in the occupied West Bank, their scale, frequency and intensity have increased in recent weeks.
On Thursday, United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk said the situation in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem was rapidly deteriorating.
“The use of military tactics and weapons in law enforcement contexts, the use of unnecessary or disproportionate force, and the application of broad, arbitrary and discriminatory restrictions of movement that affect Palestinians are extremely troubling” , he said in a press release.
Palestinian NGOs said Israeli forces arrested at least 25 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including former prisoners, overnight and Thursday morning.
Rami Khouri, a distinguished scholar at the American University of Beirut, told Tel Aviv Tribune that the raids confirmed that the Israelis were preparing to prevent the occupied West Bank from erupting into confrontation with Israel amid the Gaza war.
“They don’t want the West Bank to emerge now as the next (front),” he said, adding that the raids are trying to end Palestinian resistance in the occupied West Bank.
According to Mouin Rabbani, a Middle East analyst, the escalation of violence in the occupied West Bank is part of an agenda by some Israeli officials to “permanently consolidate” Israel’s dominance over the Palestinian territory.
“They are deliberately seeking to provoke the Palestinians and create as much conflict as possible,” he told Tel Aviv Tribune. “They even seek to provoke the security forces of the Palestinian Authority, because according to them, if they were to get involved in a conflict, then it would give Israel a pretext to eliminate the Palestinian Authority altogether. »
Violence has erupted in the West Bank since Israel’s war against the Gaza Strip began on October 7. During this period, more than 300 people were killed in raids and nearly 4,800 Palestinians were arrested.
In the Gaza Strip, more than 21,000 people have been killed and at least 55,000 injured in Israeli attacks since October 7.