Martyr in Qalandia and widespread arrest campaign targeting West Bank cities

Medical sources at Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah city announced today, Friday, the martyrdom of young man Mustafa Hamad, who succumbed to critical injuries sustained by Israeli occupation army bullets. The fatal injury occurred during the occupation forces' raid on Qalandia refugee camp, located north of occupied Jerusalem, where he was transferred to the emergency department before he breathed his last.

Hundreds of citizens marched in the funeral procession of martyr Hamad from the hospital in an angry procession, during which participants chanted slogans condemning the continuous Israeli crimes against Palestinian camps. Eyewitnesses confirmed that confrontations erupted at the camp entrance immediately after the raid, where Israeli forces used live and rubber bullets and tear gas heavily against the youths.

For its part, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that its teams dealt with two other live bullet injuries to two young men during the violent confrontations in Qalandia camp. Local sources clarified that the occupation deliberately fired directly at the demonstrators who tried to confront the raid targeting the camp's neighborhoods.

In a related context, occupation forces launched a widespread raid campaign in Bethlehem Governorate, targeting Nahalin village, where citizen Raed Ahmed Al-Nis was arrested after searching his home and tampering with its contents. The forces also raided Kisan village east of the city and stormed a number of citizens' homes without any additional arrests being reported there.

Nablus Governorate also witnessed a significant escalation on the ground, as occupation vehicles stormed several residential neighborhoods and the old Askar and Ein camps. The operation resulted in the arrest of Jamal Al-Samhan, Iyad Joudeh, and Moawiya Kamal Rashid, amidst deliberate acts of vandalism targeting citizens' vehicles and private property inside the raided homes.

In Qalqilya city, sources reported that occupation forces raided Kafr Saba neighborhood and arrested citizen Yasser Hammad and his daughter after a thorough search of their home. This coincided with occupation soldiers severely beating a citizen in Duma village south of Nablus, which led to him sustaining injuries and bruises that required his immediate transfer to the hospital for treatment.

The attacks were not limited to the occupation army; groups of settlers attacked a Bedouin gathering in Wadi Al-Awar area south of Hebron. The settlers physically assaulted Palestinian residents in the area and stole a number of sheep, under the protection and security of army forces present at the scene.

Human rights reports indicate a dangerous escalation in settler attacks in the West Bank, where their attacks have caused the death of 8 Palestinians since the end of last February. These attacks come within the framework of a systematic policy aimed at pressuring Palestinians and pushing them towards forced displacement from their lands for the sake of settlement expansion.

Since October 8, 2023, the West Bank has recorded the martyrdom of 1136 Palestinians and the injury of about 11,700 others by occupation and settler bullets. The number of arrests has also reached record figures, exceeding 22,000 cases, including all age groups under harsh detention conditions and international warnings of a deteriorating humanitarian situation.

Political and international circles warn of the Israeli government's intention to proceed with plans to officially annex the West Bank, exploiting global preoccupation with the war on the Gaza Strip. West Bank cities are currently experiencing the worst humanitarian and security crisis since 1967, with the continuation of demolition and settlement policies that undermine any chances for stability in the region.

The West Bank is experiencing an unprecedented escalation, including direct targeting, killing, and widespread arrests since the start of the aggression on the Gaza Strip.