Israeli occupation forces have escalated their violent campaign across the occupied West Bank, unleashing a wave of brutal raids marked by widespread beatings, abductions, and the systematic destruction of Palestinian homes.

On Sunday, occupation troops stormed several towns and refugee camps, forcibly evicting Palestinians from their homes and setting fire to buildings. Entire neighborhoods were subjected to bulldozing operations, leaving families homeless and traumatized.

In the Tulkarm refugee camp, located in the northern West Bank, Israeli soldiers reportedly set fire to the house of an elderly Palestinian man before physically assaulting him in a particularly savage attack.

Elsewhere, in Beitunia—situated near Ramallah in the central West Bank—forces abducted a Palestinian man along with his 13-year-old twin sons during a violent night raid on their family home.

In the al-Zahra’a neighborhood of the Jenin refugee camp, Israeli troops forcibly evacuated 20 Palestinian families, converting their homes into makeshift military outposts. Bashir Matahen, head of public relations at the Jenin municipality, revealed that approximately 3,470 homes have been forcibly evacuated in the camp, with nearly 600 houses fully demolished. He further stated that Jenin and its refugee camp are now besieged by metal gates and earth mounds, isolating more than 22,000 displaced residents.

The violent crackdown is not limited to Jenin and Tulkarm. Israeli attacks also targeted the Fawwar refugee camp, the cities of Tubas and Nablus, and the towns of Nahalin and Tuqu’, expanding the footprint of destruction across the occupied territory.

This latest Israeli offensive, which began on January 21 under the pretext of targeting fighters from the Jenin Battalion, has coincided with the regime’s broader genocidal assault on Gaza that commenced on October 7, 2023. Since then, violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has sharply escalated.

According to official tallies, nearly 960 Palestinians have been murdered in the West Bank by Israeli soldiers and illegal settlers since the start of the Gaza assault. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) reports that more than 40,000 Palestinians have been displaced—marking the largest mass displacement in the West Bank since the 1967 war when Israel first occupied the territory.

Human rights groups warn that the ongoing Israeli campaign of home demolitions, forced evictions, and mass displacements could have devastating long-term effects on the already besieged Palestinian population, amounting to grave violations of international law.

As the violence continues unabated, Palestinian families in the West Bank are left grappling with a deepening humanitarian catastrophe, echoing the suffering of their brethren in Gaza. (ILKHA)