'Israel' faced with surge in average number of ops., esp. in West Bank

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
16 Aug 2024 18:05

Israeli Channel 12 has reported a significant rise in the average number of operations against the occupation over the past ten months, noting that most occurred in the West Bank.

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Palestinian Resistance fighters targeting the Israeli occupation's Dotan checkpoint southwest of Jenin, occupied Palestine. (Social media)

The Israeli Channel 12 confirmed that hundreds of operations have been carried out against the Israeli occupation since the beginning of this year, with a remarkable increase in the average number of operations, reaching dozens a month, aiming at a wide range of targets across almost every point in "Israel".

Israeli settler and Channel correspondent Noam Cohen noted that the "severe operations" in the last week are part of a surge in attacks across "Israel" over the past ten months.

He mentioned that from October 7 until the beginning of August, 338 operations were carried out against Israeli settlers in occupied Palestine, representing an 82% increase compared to 2022 and an almost 9% increase since 2023.

Illustrating the rise in the monthly average of operations, Israeli media pointed out that in 2020, the average was 5, in 2021, it was 10, in 2022, it was 17, and by October 2023, it had reached 29. Since October 7, the average reached 31 operations per month.

Most of the operations since October have occurred in the West Bank, with 300 incidents, compared to 10 in al-Quds and 28 in other occupied territories. In these operations, 28 settlers were killed and 256 others were injured.

In a related context, the Israeli newspaper Maariv reported that sources within the security and military establishments fear that the Israeli settlers' attack on the village of Qaryut in Qalqilya could ignite the entire West Bank.

Northern and military affairs correspondent for the newspaper, Avi Ashkenazi, confirmed that the Central Command has raised the alert level to the highest degree after classifying the incident in Qaryut as a very serious event with the potential to spark widespread unrest, either through violent protests or as a trigger for more military operations.

Israeli settlers raid West Bank town, commit arson, random killings

A Palestinian youth was killed and another was critically injured on Thursday, August 15, evening during an attack by Israeli settlers on the village of Jit, east of Qalqilya in the West Bank, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported.

The settlers also set fire to several Palestinian homes and vehicles in Jit. According to local sources, Israeli occupation forces blocked Palestinian Civil Defense teams from reaching the burning homes and vehicles to extinguish the flames.

In response, Palestinians confronted Israeli forces following their incursion into Qalqilya. The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades – Luyuth al-Majd (Lions of Glory) groups confirmed targeting an Israeli officer, identified as Captain Louay, with gunfire at the eastern entrance of the city.

In Nablus, eight Palestinians suffered from tear gas inhalation after Israeli forces stormed the town of Huwwara, south of the city. Meanwhile, in al-Khalil, Israeli soldiers raided numerous homes in the Jaber neighborhood and Wadi al-Hussain area.

In related developments, Israeli media reported a heightened security alert in Tel Aviv as authorities search for two people believed to be planning an imminent attack.

These latest incidents are part of a broader escalation of violence in the West Bank, which has seen an increase in confrontations since the start of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.

Towns and cities across the West Bank have been subjected to daily incursions by settlers and occupation forces, often resulting in widespread arrests, as well as deaths and injuries.

At least 606 Palestinians have been killed and about 5,400 others wounded at the hands of Israeli occupation forces and settlers in various cities and camps of the West Bank since the start of the war on Gaza on October 7.