Hamas warns of Israeli plans to displace Palestinians in occupied West Bank

By Mohamed Majed

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - The Palestinian group Hamas warned on Saturday of the Israeli government and illegal settler plans to force Palestinians out of their villages in the occupied West Bank.

Senior Hamas figure Mahmoud Mardawi, in an official statement, said: “We warn of the grave danger posed by the plans led by the extremist occupation government and illegal settler groups to displace the residents of Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank.”

Mardawi highlighted that current actions in areas such as Masafer Yatta, the Jordan Valley, and villages around Nablus, Salfit, and Ramallah constitute a “serious plan targeting Palestinian presence in the occupied West Bank.”

He said: “The occupation seeks to alter the demographic reality and complete its West Bank annexation plan, which has already resulted in the seizure of thousands of acres of Palestinian land over the years.”

Since the onset of Israel's onslaught in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli forces and illegal settlers have reportedly conducted over 16,663 attacks in the occupied West Bank displacing 28 Palestinian Bedouin communities, according to the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission.

Israeli sources estimate that more than 720,000 illegal settlers reside in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

At least 767 Palestinians have since been killed and 6,300 injured by Israeli army fire in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The current escalation follows a July opinion by the International Court of Justice which declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian territories “illegal” and called for the evacuation of all Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara