Israeli Military Intensifies Operations in Tulkarem Amid Settlement Expansion Plans

Israeli forces have intensified their military operations in Tulkarem, a city in the northern occupied West Bank, by sealing off its entrances and conducting extensive raids and mass arrests. This escalation has led to significant displacement among the Palestinian population.

Footage from Thursday night depicted soldiers escorting Palestinians through the streets, a scene described by residents as a humiliating display of force. Tulkarem Governor Abdullah Kamil appealed to the international community, urging the United Nations General Assembly, the Human Rights Council, and humanitarian organizations to intervene against what he termed "crimes" committed against the city's nearly 100,000 residents. Kamil stated that Israeli forces were "arbitrarily and unjustly" carrying out mass arrests, storming homes, destroying property, and "terrorizing children and women," according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

The military's actions in Tulkarem followed an incident on Thursday where Israeli forces were reportedly targeted by an explosive device, resulting in injuries to two soldiers.

Elsewhere in the West Bank, Israeli forces shot and wounded five young Palestinians in the village of Deir Jarir. One of the injured was arrested before receiving medical treatment, as reported by the village council. Additionally, Israeli troops conducted raids in Nablus and the nearby town of Beit Furik, ransacking shops and converting a house in Beitin, east of Ramallah, into a military barracks.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned these raids, stating that international silence had emboldened Israel to continue unilateral measures aimed at destabilizing the territory.

In a related development, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has advanced a settlement expansion plan that would significantly impact the prospects for a Palestinian state. On Thursday, he signed an agreement to proceed with construction in the E1 area near the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, several kilometers east of Jerusalem. Netanyahu declared at the signing ceremony, "We are going to fulfill our promise that there will be no Palestinian state. This place belongs to us," adding, "We are going to double the city's population."

The project, driven by far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, covers a 12-square-kilometer area and includes plans for 3,400 new homes for Israeli settlers. Critics argue that the plan would sever large parts of the occupied West Bank from East Jerusalem while connecting major settlement blocs. Palestinians view East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. Under international law, all Israeli settlements in occupied territory are considered illegal, regardless of Israeli government approval.