Israel's military offensive in West Bank part of bigger plan to usurp Palestinian lands, says Hamas

Palestinian movement Hamas slams Israel's ongoing military offensive as part of larger strategy to 'grab more West Bank lands and expel its inhabitants'

By Mustafa Haboush

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – The Palestinian movement Hamas On Friday condemned Israel's ongoing military offensives in the West Bank, describing them as part of a larger strategy to usurp Palestinian lands after forcibly evicting residents.

The ongoing military offensives by Israeli forces in the West Bank, which are currently concentrated in the city of Jenin, are a continuation of the war crimes committed by Israel throughout the Gaza Strip as well as the West Bank, Hamas said in a statement.

It added that these military actions are part of a plan to “grab more West Bank lands and expel its inhabitants.”

Hamas said Israel's recent military offensives, including those in Tulkarem and Tubas, have failed, and that "the inevitable outcome of the current aggression in Jenin will be the same."

Since early Wednesday, the Israeli army has been conducting a large-scale and ongoing military offensive in the cities of Tulkarm, Jenin, and Tubas in the northern West Bank, which is the most extensive since 2002.

As of Friday afternoon, at least 19 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military assaults.

On Thursday evening, the army withdrew from Tulkarem, capping a day of extensive military strikes in the area. Earlier that day, the army had also pulled out of Al Fara Camp in Tubas after a similar military actions.

Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank amid a brutal Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 40,600 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7 last year.

At least 673 Palestinians have been killed, nearly 5,400 others injured, and over 10,300 arrested in the occupied territory, according to Palestinian figures.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio

Kaynak:

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