The Israeli occupation authorities announced the imposition of a closure on the West Bank and Gaza on the occasion of the Jewish “Purim” holiday, starting from Monday afternoon until dawn next Thursday.

At a time when the occupation forces demolished a mosque, in the West Bank, yesterday, Sunday, claiming that there was no permit to build it.

The decision to close the West Bank comes in light of the tension in the West Bank over the impact of Israeli incursions by the army and settlers into Palestinian cities and villages.

Al-Jazeera correspondent stated that the Palestinians reopened their shops in the town of Hawara, south of Nablus, a week after they were closed by an Israeli military decision.

This comes at a time when the occupation authorities have maintained strict military measures in the town, according to the instructions of the Israeli Minister of Defense, with the aim of securing settlers' roads and thwarting any possible attacks against them.

On February 26, the town witnessed unprecedented attacks by Israeli settlers, which resulted in the death of a Palestinian, dozens of injuries, and the burning and destruction of dozens of homes and cars, after two settlers were killed in a shooting near the town.

Solidarity from Hawara

The leadership of the Higher Follow-up Committee for the Arab masses inside the Green Line organized a field tour in the town, in solidarity with its people, after the settlers' attacks on its residents, and the burning of many shops and homes, last week.

During its field tour in the town, the committee condemned what the town was subjected to by the Israeli settlers.

Muhammad Baraka, head of the committee, told Al-Jazeera, "We are now here to stand directly on the events and convey our voice to our people that they are not alone, and they cannot be alone. We also launched a fundraising campaign in order to contribute to the reconstruction of what the criminals spoiled."

On Sunday evening, dozens of Palestinians, including children in the Gaza Strip, participated in a stand in rejection of Israeli violations in the occupied West Bank.

Participants in the vigil organized by the Popular Committee for Palestinian Refugees in Jabalia camp, in the northern Gaza Strip, raised banners bearing the names of occupied Palestinian villages and towns, and supporting the steadfastness of the Palestinians.


In another development, the Palestinian News Agency said on Sunday that the Israeli occupation forces demolished a Palestinian mosque and a hut southeast of Bethlehem, claiming that there was no permit to build it.

And the Palestinian agency reported that the Israeli forces stormed the "Umm Said" area, located between the towns of Beit Fajjar and the village of Marah Mualla, and demolished the mosque built on land owned by a Palestinian citizen.

It also demolished a hut used to sell umbrellas in the village of Beit Tamar.

settler extremism

In a related context, the French Mediapart website published an investigation from inside settlements near Nablus in the West Bank, describing the feelings of settlers and their positions on what is happening in the surroundings.

The investigation revealed that the common denominator among the settlers is that they hold grudges and hatred for the Palestinians, and they are convinced that they are right and that they are on their land, which explains their lack of any guilt because of the actions committed by their citizens, the latest of which was the attack on the residents of the town of Hawara.

The investigation also reveals the dominance of religious language in the settlers' conversations, which indicates that they chose to live in the settlements for extremist religious and ideological motives.