Illegal Israeli settlers block aid trucks from occupied West Bank to besieged Gaza

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) – Illegal Israeli settlers blocked humanitarian aid trucks on their way to the besieged Gaza Strip from the occupied West Bank on Sunday, according to Israeli media.

Illegal settlers put roadblocks to prevent the trucks at the Tarqumiya checkpoint south of the West Bank city of Hebron, Israel Hayom newspaper reported.

Israeli police moved to the scene to reopen the road and allow the aid trucks to move, the daily said.

Last week, Israeli protesters vandalized several aid trucks near the Tarqumiya checkpoint, ripping aid off and throwing it onto the road.

Similar protests were staged in the past week with protesters demanding the release of Israelis held captive by Hamas in return for allowing aid into the Gaza Strip.

Israel has closed the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings to humanitarian aid for the past ten days, exacerbating the catastrophic humanitarian conditions in Gaza, where approximately 2.3 million Palestinians live, including 2 million displaced persons.

Israel continued its brutal offensive on Gaza despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

Over 35,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and over 79,500 others injured since October following an attack by Hamas.

More than seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala