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For the second day running, the Israeli army is continuing its military incursions of the Qalandiya refugee camp in occupied north Jerusalem, amidst a widespread campaign of raids and arrests, the conversion of homes into military barracks, and injuries among Palestinians.
Mohammed Aslan, head of the Popular Committee for Services in Qalandiya Camp, a Palestine Liberation Organization-affilate, told Anadolu Agency that “the Israeli occupation army’s incursions are still ongoing for the second day, with more raids and abuse of residents, storming homes, destroying their contents, and stealing money and gold jewelry from several houses.”
He added that the situation inside the camp is “extremely difficult,” and that the occupation forces continue to send military reinforcements and carry out more raids on homes.
He explained that the Israeli army converted about eight homes into military barracks, while the number of detainees has reached about 20 Palestinians so far, with the number expected to rise as the military operations continues.
Aslan reported three serious injuries resulting from beatings, including a skull fracture, in addition to more than 60 cases of suffocation due to tear gas inhalation.
He continued, expressing his outrage: “It is shameful that the world sees what is happening in Qalandiya camp and remains silent. We hope the international community will awaken from its silence in the face of the torture and abuse inflicted upon the residents.”
On its part, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society emphasized in a statement that its teams have so far treated 10 injuries resulting from Israeli army attacks, in addition to evacuating a number of patients.
It added that Israel army forces prevented its teams from entering the camp during the night and forced them to leave, despite the presence of patients they have not yet been able to reach.
In a related development, local sources told Anadolu Agency that Israeli army forces evacuated the home of Muhammad Jamil Ammar before planting explosives inside and detonating parts of it, then arrested him.
On Wednesday morning, the Israeli army launched a large-scale military operation in the Qalandiya refugee camp and the town of Kafr Aqab, north Jerusalem. The operation included raiding dozens of homes, converting several into military outposts, preventing dawn prayers in the camp’s mosques, and carrying out arrests and beatings of residents.
Yoram Halevi, the Israeli army’s coordinator of activities in the Palestinian territories, announced the operation on Facebook Wednesday, stating: “The army has begun a large-scale operation in the Qalandiya refugee camp.”
Halevy did not specify the duration of the operation, claiming it targeted “militants, hostile infrastructure, and the phenomenon of weapons possession and trafficking.”
Israeli forces routinely raid cities and towns in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Since the start of the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip on 7 October, 2013, the Israeli army and settlers escalated their attacks in the occupied West Bank, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,182 Palestinians, the injury of approximately 13,000, and the arrest of nearly 24,000.
The attacks also include the demolition of homes and structures, the burning of mosques, the bulldozing of agricultural land, preventing farmers from accessing their fields, the displacement of Palestinians, and the expansion of settlements on their land.
Palestinians warn that Israel, through these attacks, is paving the way for the formal annexation of the West Bank, which would undermine the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state as stipulated in relevant UN resolutions.
In 1948, Israel was established on Palestinian land occupied by armed Zionist militias who committed massacres and caused the displacement of at least 750,000 Palestinians, before Tel Aviv occupied the remaining territory and refused to withdraw.
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