Israel has deployed tanks into the occupied West Financial institution and ordered its army to organize for an “prolonged keep” to battle Palestinian armed teams within the space’s refugee camps.
Sunday’s transfer comes amongst an growth of army operations which have expelled an estimated 40,000 folks from their houses within the Israeli-occupied West Financial institution over the previous month, since a ceasefire paused combating in Gaza.
More and more strident calls by Israeli hardliners for full annexation of Palestinian territories and a proposal by United States President Donald Trump to expel everybody who lives in Gaza have stoked fears of a brand new Nakba.
Right here’s the whole lot it’s worthwhile to know concerning the current escalation within the West Financial institution and what it means:
What precisely did Israel do within the occupied West Financial institution?
Israel deployed three tanks into the Jenin refugee camp, the primary such deployment within the occupied West Financial institution since 2002, when Israel launched a bloody crackdown on a Palestinian rebellion often called the second Intifada, which lasted till 2005.
Israel started its assault on January 21 and has moved past Jenin and its camp southwards to Qabatiya and westwards to Burqin, and eastwards out of Tulkarem to Nur Shams refugee camp.
It has additionally raided additional south within the West Financial institution, hitting Kobar and Silwad north of Ramallah, the Beitunia neighbourhood of Ramallah, and Hebron.
Because it conducts its raids, the Israeli military can also be expelling folks, destroying roads, imposing curfews for days on finish, blocking entry factors to cities, arresting folks and commandeering houses for army use.
Is that authorized?
No, it isn’t authorized.
The Worldwide Court docket of Justice stated in July that “governments have obligations to make sure that Israel brings the unlawful occupation to an instantaneous finish”.
The United Nations Normal Meeting in September adopted a decision calling on Israel to finish its unlawful occupation of Palestine inside a yr.
Below the Oslo Accords signed within the early Nineties, Israel controls giant components of the West Financial institution, whereas the Palestinian Authority administers others, an association meant as a precursor to a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Because the occupying energy, Israel is obliged underneath worldwide legislation to make sure the safety of Palestinians, the availability of fundamental providers, and the respect of human rights.
What’s the significance of Israel utilizing tanks?
Israel usually raids the West Financial institution however usually quickly withdraws its forces.
The usage of heavy tanks, on prime of the standard armoured personnel carriers, alerts how intensely the army is aiming to suppress Palestinian armed teams.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, talking at a army ceremony on Sunday, stated the deployment confirmed that “we’re combating terror with all means, in every single place”.
The Palestinian Ministry of Overseas Affairs and Expatriates stated the transfer was a continuation of Israel’s “genocide, displacement and annexation”.
Why now? What does Israel need?
Netanyahu has been underneath stress from far-right governing companions to crack down on armed resistance within the West Financial institution whereas combating in Gaza and Lebanon is on maintain.
His announcement that Israel was “coming into terrorist strongholds, flattening whole streets that terrorists use, and their houses” additionally got here after a collection of bus explosions close to Tel Aviv on Thursday evening. There have been no casualties reported and no teams claimed accountability.
Palestinians view the growth of raids as a part of a broader effort to cement Israeli management over the West Financial institution, the place three million Palestinians reside.
Israeli media quoted sources near the prime minister saying that the military intends to create giant corridors in Tulkarem and Jenin – just like the so-called Netzarim Hall in Gaza – for the motion of its forces and heavy gear.
Is Israel expelling folks from their houses once more?
About 40,000 Palestinians have fled the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarem, Nur Shams and Farea, which “at the moment are empty of residents”.
It isn’t clear how lengthy folks will likely be prevented from returning to their houses.
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz stated troops will stay in components of the territory for a yr and that the tens of 1000’s of Palestinians who have been compelled out will be unable to return.
“We won’t permit the return of residents, and we won’t permit terrorism to return and develop,” he stated.
The place will displaced folks go?
No plan has been put in place by Israeli or Palestinian authorities to accommodate the displaced, who’re dwelling in dire situations in makeshift lodging.
Israeli advocacy group Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) stated some 500 folks expelled from Tulkarem and Nur Shams discovered non permanent shelter in al-Labad, east of Tulkarem, tenting out within the basements of mosques, occasion halls, and group centres.
Others took refuge in close by villages together with Ezbat al-Jarad, Bal’a, Attil, Bizzariya, and Jarushia, PHR stated.
ظروف قاسية يعيشها النازحون من مخيم طولكرم في ظل البرد والشتاء وعدوان المستمر. pic.twitter.com/JpGN0JUOsj
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) February 24, 2025
Translation: Individuals displaced from Tulkarem camp reside in harsh situations amid the chilly and the continued aggression.
Is there any assist for individuals who have been expelled?
Israel has compelled the primary supplier of help to Palestinians – the UN Aid and Works Company for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) – to shut its headquarters in Jerusalem. On Sunday, Katz ordered the UNRWA to halt exercise within the West Financial institution camps.
Israel accuses UNRWA of supporting armed teams and handed a legislation on January 30 banning it from working in Israel.
PHR stated there was a dire scarcity of meals, energy, and medical provides, including that the Israeli military is “obstructing Purple Crescent autos and humanitarian providers, delaying their means to offer first help or transport sufferers for … remedy”.
Will this affect the ceasefire in Gaza?
The truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza already seems tenuous and assaults within the West Financial institution may tip the stability.
Hamas official Basem Naim advised Al Jazeera that Hamas condemned the Israeli raids and noticed them as Netanyahu “deliberately sabotaging the deal” and setting the stage for renewed conflict.
Netanyahu on Sunday stated the army elevated its “operational readiness” round Gaza and was “able to return to intense combating at any second”.
