Israeli Army Conducts Raids In West Bank As Tensions Rise - Reports

Tensions are rising in the Palestinian territories in the West Bank, as the Israeli army raided the east of the city of Nablus on Friday and searched Palestinian homes in Jenin, Palestinian media reported

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd June, 2023) Tensions are rising in the Palestinian territories in the West Bank, as the Israeli army raided the east of the city of Nablus on Friday and searched Palestinian homes in Jenin, Palestinian media reported.

The Israeli army raided a Palestinian refugee camp in Nablus on Friday, injuring one person and detaining four, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. Israeli forces also conducted searches in two other villages and closed the road leading from Jenin to Haifa, causing discontent among locals and dispersing them with stun grenades and the threat of firearms, while Jewish settlers continue to attack Palestinian localities, the news agency said.

Palestinian organizations, for their part, accused the Israeli government of escalating the violence.

"The attack by flocks of heavily armed terrorist settlers on our Palestinian villages and towns and terrorising the unarmed citizens constitutes a dangerous escalation and a heinous crime that is carried out with incitement and support of the fascist occupation government, which bears full responsibility for its repercussions," Palestinian militant group Hamas was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera.

The Fatah political alliance also condemned the attack and called on Palestinians to fight against systematic settler attacks facilitated by the Israeli army.

On June 23, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Tuerk issued a statement on the OHCHR website saying that violence in the West Bank could spiral out of control following Israeli army operations this week and clashes between settlers and Palestinians. At least seven Palestinians, including a boy and a girl, were killed and at least 91 Palestinians and seven Israeli soldiers were wounded in Monday's operation by Israeli security forces in the Jenin refugee camp, the OHCHR said.

Following the Jenin raid, four Israeli settlers were killed Tuesday by two armed Palestinians near the Israeli settlement of Eli in the occupied West Bank. Hundreds of Jewish settlers then attacked and ransacked the Palestinian town of Turmus Ayya, where most residents hold American citizenship.

Relations between Palestine and Israel have been adversarial since the latter's founding in 1948. Palestinians seek diplomatic recognition of their independent state on the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which is partially occupied by Israel, and the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government refuses to recognize Palestine as an independent political and diplomatic entity and continues to build settlements in the occupied areas despite objections from the United Nations.