The Israeli occupation army announced today, Sunday, that it had transferred a tank unit to Jenin, in the northern West Bank, to participate in what it called the "offensive effort," while the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said that this is the first time that the occupation has deployed its tanks in the West Bank since Operation "Defensive Shield", which the occupation army carried out in 2002. The ongoing occupation aggression on the northern West Bank expanded to the town of Qabatiya, which its forces stormed at dawn today.

The occupation army said on Sunday in a statement on the X platform: "Forces from the Nahal Brigade and the Duvdevan Unit have begun operating in additional towns in the Jenin area, and at the same time a tank platoon will operate in Jenin as part of the offensive effort." He added, according to the Anadolu Agency: "IDF forces, the General Security Service (Shabak) and the Border Guard continue their operations to thwart terrorism in northern Samaria (the West Bank), and our forces are expanding their offensive activities in the area," noting the continuation of operations in Tulkarm: "The forces continue their work in the Jenin and Tulkarm areas."

Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said, "I have ordered the army to prepare for a long stay in the refugee camps in the West Bank," adding that the occupation army "is expanding its activity in northern Samaria (the West Bank) and is also operating in Qabatiya since tonight, and is reinforcing its forces with an armored unit and additional troops." Agence France-Presse quoted the occupation army as saying that its forces will remain in some of the camps in the occupied West Bank "throughout the current year."

Expanding aggression to Qabatiya

On Sunday, Israeli occupation forces stormed the town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin, with a large number of vehicles and soldiers, causing widespread and unprecedented destruction to the town’s infrastructure. This comes in the context of the ongoing aggression on the northern West Bank. Qabatiya Mayor Ahmed Zakarneh told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, “The occupation forces stormed Qabatiya in an unprecedented military operation that began at around 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, as Israeli military vehicles and bulldozers were deployed heavily throughout the town.”

According to Zakarneh, the occupation bulldozers razed the streets, infrastructure and public squares, causing widespread destruction and cutting off water networks, without the ability of specialized crews to reach them due to the intense Israeli military tightening. Zakarneh explained that the occupation forces deployed their snipers in a number of homes, while infantry soldiers were deployed in the streets and the occupation forces carried out raids and searches of homes in several neighborhoods, during which field investigations were conducted with the residents.

Zakarneh pointed out that this raid is the largest of its kind in Qabatiya, given the extent of the destruction caused by the occupation forces to the infrastructure, main and side streets, and due to the heavy military presence and raids, while public life in the town has been disrupted, stressing that the town has not witnessed any clashes or injuries so far, and no arrests have been reported. Zakarneh appealed to international institutions to intervene urgently to stop what he described as the "systematic sabotage" that the town is being subjected to, warning of the repercussions of the continued occupation operations that could lead to total destruction in Qabatiya.