The occupation forces stormed the cities and towns of the West Bank and raided a number of homes (Anatolia Agency)
Three Palestinians, including a leader in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades - the military wing of the National Liberation Movement (Fatah) - were martyred during violent clashes with the Israeli army in the Nour Shams camp in the city of Tulkarm, in the northern West Bank.
Palestinian sources reported that the three martyrs fought a fierce battle with the occupation forces after the siege of the house in which they were holed up, as the occupation bombed the house with missiles more than once.
The three martyrs are the leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Moatasem Al-Ali, Ziad Ali Daama, and Islam Ibrahim Al-Ali.
The occupation forces re-stormed the city of Tulkarm and the Nour Shams camp after their withdrawal this morning, and sent in large military reinforcements from the occupation vehicles from the western axis of the city. They surrounded a house and bombed it with bombs, amid the outbreak of violent confrontations between young men and the occupation soldiers, who fired heavy bullets, while the occupation imposed a cordon. Stressing that all entrances to the camp are prohibited from entering or exiting.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said that its crews dealt with 5 injured people, including 3 women, during the military operation in Tulkarm.
The occupation forces also stormed the Wadi Al-Faraa area, south of Tubas, with a number of military patrols, and sent in military reinforcements accompanied by a bulldozer from the direction of the Hamra military checkpoint, amid violent clashes between young men and occupation soldiers.
In the Al-Harayeq area, south of the city of Hebron, more than 10 military vehicles and large numbers of the occupation army raided the area, deployed in the main streets and around citizens’ homes, and impeded their movement.
The occupation forces also set up a military checkpoint in the vicinity of the Harmony Hall in the village of Kharsa, south of Hebron, and stopped citizens’ vehicles and searched them.
In the city of Beit Jala, west of Bethlehem, the occupation forces demolished the foundations of an under-construction house belonging to a Palestinian citizen under the pretext of not having a permit.
In occupied Jerusalem, Israeli settlers stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of the Israeli occupation police. Eyewitnesses reported that dozens of settlers stormed Al-Aqsa from the Mughrabi Gate side and carried out provocative tours of its courtyards and performed Talmudic rituals.
The occupation police stationed at the gates of the Old City and Al-Aqsa Mosque also prevented citizens from entering, causing the number of worshipers to decrease for the fifth month in a row.
Plumes of smoke rise in Nour Shams camp in the city of Tulkarm in the West Bank, amid continuing clashes after the Israeli occupation forces stormed the camp #Gaza_War #Video pic.twitter.com/gBElZUSMnd
- Al Jazeera Palestine (@AJA_Palestine) February 7, 2024
Increased arrests
Meanwhile, the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners’ Affairs Authority and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said in a joint statement that the number of Palestinian detainees has risen to 6,900 since October 7, 2023, after the Israeli army arrested 35 Palestinians - including former prisoners - during the storming of several governorates last night.
The two institutions said that the total number of arrests includes those who were arrested from homes and through military checkpoints, those who were forced to surrender themselves under pressure, and those who were held hostage.
The Commission and the Club stated that the arrest operations were concentrated in the governorates of Ramallah (central), Nablus, Jenin, Tubas, and Tulkarm in the northern West Bank, and Hebron (south).
The same statement stated that the arrests were accompanied by sabotage and destruction of citizens’ homes, in addition to severe beatings against detainees and their families, and confiscation of money.
Since the start of its devastating war on the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army has intensified its operations in the West Bank, killing 383 Palestinians and wounding about 4,400, according to official Palestinian sources.
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies