For the second consecutive day, Israeli occupation forces continue extensive bulldozing and excavation operations in the heart of Jenin city, northern West Bank, with the aim of establishing a new military camp. Local sources reported that military bulldozers targeted a 7-dunum agricultural plot in the Al-Jabriyat neighborhood, amidst a complete closure of the area and prevention of citizens from accessing it.
This step is exceptionally serious because the targeted land is located within Area (A) classifications, which are administratively and security-wise under the Palestinian Authority according to signed agreements. Officials in Jenin Municipality confirmed that the site directly overlooks the camp and vital neighborhoods in the city, turning it into a strategic monitoring and oversight center that threatens the privacy and security of residents.
In Hebron city, occupation authorities took an unprecedented step in decades by approving the construction of a Jewish religious school in the heart of the historic city. This decision is the first actual implementation of Tel Aviv's announcement to strip the Palestinian Hebron Municipality of its powers in construction and planning, which effectively ends the Hebron Protocol signed in 1997.
Media sources reported that the Higher Planning Committee of the Civil Administration approved the establishment of the 'Shavei Hebron' religious school building, covering an area of one thousand square meters near the 'Beit Romano' settlement. This approval was granted without obtaining permission from the Hebron Municipality, in a blatant disregard for legal norms and international agreements governing work in the divided city.
In parallel, the Israeli committee approved plans to build 576 new settlement units distributed across different areas in the occupied West Bank. These decisions included the construction of 456 units in the 'Mitzpe Yericho' settlement near Jericho, in addition to 120 other units in the 'Karnei Shomron' settlement located north of the West Bank.
For his part, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated that these moves aim to implement 'effective sovereignty' on the ground by strengthening settlement. Observers considered that transferring planning authorities in settlement blocs and heritage sites directly to the Civil Administration aims to completely marginalize the official Palestinian presence.
In a new racist attack, groups of settlers set fire to the Grand Mosque in Jaljulia village, north of Ramallah city, at dawn today. The assailants infiltrated the mosque and set fire to its contents, and also scrawled inciting Hebrew slogans on its outer walls before fleeing under the protection of army forces.
Field documentation showed extensive charring of the mosque's interior walls and damage to prayer areas due to the fire, which residents later managed to control. This crime comes within a escalating pattern of targeting Palestinian places of worship, as settlers had previously burned mosques in the towns of Duma and Nablus in recent months.
In the southern West Bank, occupation machinery carried out the demolition of an inhabited house in the 'Barouq' area, part of Yatta town, south of Hebron. The house, belonging to citizen Hamza Kamel Al-Adra, has an area of 180 square meters and was razed to the ground under the pretext of building without a permit in areas classified as (C) according to the Oslo Agreement.
Eyewitnesses reported that the demolition took place near a new settlement road that Israeli authorities are working to construct in the area to connect settlements. Residents of Yatta and its affiliated Masafer face increasing pressure to displace them from their lands for the benefit of settlement expansion and closed military zones.
Palestinians warn that these systematic attacks, extending from Jenin in the north to Hebron in the south, pave the way for what is known as the 'silent annexation' of the West Bank. Experts believe that intensifying settlement, demolishing homes, and confiscating civil powers aim to undermine any future opportunity for establishing a geographically contiguous Palestinian state.
Official data indicates that the West Bank has been experiencing continuous military aggression since the beginning of 2025, initially focused on the northern camps. These operations resulted in the martyrdom of dozens and widespread destruction of infrastructure and residential buildings, leading to the displacement of thousands of families from their homes.
The United Nations and the international community consider all settlement activities in the West Bank illegal and a violation of international humanitarian law. Despite international condemnations, the current Israeli government continues to accelerate the pace of settlement construction and legalize unauthorized outposts in various Palestinian governorates.
It is worth noting that the divisions of areas (A, B, C) resulting from the Oslo II Accord of 1995 are effectively fading in the face of repeated Israeli incursions into cities. Israel currently fully controls about 60% of the West Bank's area, while the areas available to Palestinians are shrinking due to the apartheid wall and settlements.
We are facing a dangerous precedent; this area is under Palestinian sovereignty according to agreements, and establishing a military point there means imposing a new reality whose repercussions no one knows.
شارك برأيك
Widespread Israeli Escalation in the West Bank: Hebron Municipality Powers Stripped, Military Bulldozing in Jenin