Israel deploys additional forces in West Bank ahead of Jewish holiday

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – The Israeli army deployed additional forces in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday ahead of a week-long Jewish holiday.

A military statement said the new troop deployment comes upon a new assessment of the security situation ahead of the Sukkot holiday, which is set to begin Wednesday evening.

According to data from the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now, there are half a million illegal settlers in 146 settlements and 224 outposts in the West Bank.

Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank since the start of Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 42,400 people, mostly women and children, since last year following a Hamas attack.

At least 756 Palestinians have since been killed and over 6,250 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

The escalation follows a landmark opinion last July by the International Court of Justice that declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land "illegal" and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala