Arrest campaign targets 11 Palestinians in the West Bank, Ben Gvir boasts of demolishing thousands of homes

Israeli occupation forces launched a series of widespread raids and incursions in various areas of the occupied West Bank early Wednesday morning, resulting in the arrest of 11 Palestinian citizens. This campaign focused on the northern and southern governorates, targeting citizens' homes which were subjected to thorough searches, tampering with their contents, and spreading panic among their residents.\n\nLocal sources reported that the arrests were geographically distributed to include the governorates of Qalqilya, Tulkarm, Jenin, and Nablus, in addition to Bethlehem and Jerusalem. The sources confirmed that the occupation army deliberately stormed cities and villages from several entrances, and set up sudden military checkpoints to obstruct the movement of citizens and facilitate arrest operations that targeted various segments of Palestinian society.\n\nIn Qalqilya governorate, Israeli forces arrested three Palestinians after storming the city from its eastern entrance and raiding several residential neighborhoods. In a related context, Bethlehem governorate witnessed the arrest of three other citizens, who were taken to occupation interrogation centers after searching their relatives' homes and abusing them on the ground.\n\nIn Tulkarm, occupation forces arrested a woman from the village of Iktaba, east of the city, in a move that reflects the occupation's insistence on targeting all groups, including women. The arrests also included a young man from the town of Jaba' south of Jenin, in addition to the arrest of two other young men during a violent incursion into the village of Qasra south of Nablus city.\n\nIn occupied Jerusalem, specifically in the town of Biddu northwest of the city, occupation forces arrested a Palestinian academic after raiding his home and vandalizing his property. This step comes within a systematic policy targeting Palestinian elites and academics in an attempt to undermine social and national activism in the villages and towns surrounding Jerusalem.\n\nThe village of Madama, south of Nablus, witnessed a wide-ranging military operation, where dozens of military vehicles raided the village and soldiers stormed dozens of homes. Occupation forces subjected a large number of citizens to harsh field interrogations inside their homes, and although no official arrests were recorded in the village, the operation caused widespread damage to property.\n\nFor its part, the Prisoners' Information Office indicated that the continuation of these daily campaigns reflects a dangerous escalation in the policy of raids carried out by the occupation authorities. The office clarified that these arrests spare no one, including women, academics, and youth, which raises the pace of field tension in all governorates of the West Bank.\n\nIn a related political context, the extremist Israeli National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, boasted of demolishing about 5,700 Palestinian homes in the last year alone. Ben Gvir's statements came during the 'Local Government Center' conference in Tel Aviv, where he pledged to continue this policy and intensify demolition operations, especially in Bedouin communities which he considers illegal.\n\nBen Gvir claimed in his statements, reported by Hebrew media, that the law must apply to anyone who builds without a permit, ignoring the impossible restrictions imposed by the occupation on Palestinian construction. The extremist minister affirmed his intention to demolish more homes in areas classified as 'C', which threatens to displace thousands of Palestinian families from their lands.\n\nOfficial Palestinian data indicates that this field and political escalation has resulted in the martyrdom of 1,173 Palestinians and the injury of more than 12,000 others since the beginning of the current wave of escalation. The total number of arrests reached about 23,000 cases, while demolition and displacement policies have resulted in the displacement of about 33,000 Palestinian citizens from their homes.\n\nRegarding settlements, the Israeli organization 'Peace Now' revealed that the Netanyahu government has given the green light for the establishment of 102 new settlements in the West Bank since late 2022. These decisions are accompanied by an escalation in settler attacks on Palestinian farmers and their property, especially in areas near illegal settlement outposts.\n\nMore than half a million settlers currently live in West Bank settlements, which are considered illegal under international law, amidst continuous tightening of restrictions on three million Palestinians. This settlement expansion, supported by extremist ministers like Ben Gvir, aims to change the demographic and geographical reality in the West Bank and prevent the establishment of a future Palestinian state.\n\n"Only 5,700 homes were demolished in the last year, and I will continue to demolish more and more homes in Bedouin communities.