130 Palestinians injured in Israeli offensive on Tubas in northern West Bank

RAMALLAH, Palestine/ISTANBUL

A total of 130 Palestinians have been injured as a result of an Israeli offensive on the Tubas governorate in the northern occupied West Bank since a military offensive began last Wednesday.

Nedal Odeh, director of ambulance and emergency services in Tubas, told Anadolu that since the start of the offensive, 130 Palestinians have been injured after being beaten by Israeli forces.

The Israeli army has conducted the offensive in Tubas and several surrounding towns, raiding a large number of homes, turning some into military posts, and causing extensive property damage.

The Palestinian Prisoner Society said the army arrested 162 Palestinians from the governorate during the offensive, most of whom were released after field interrogations and being subjected to mistreatment.

Dozens of homes were also vandalized and had their contents destroyed, while the army turned some into military outposts after forcing residents to leave.

While the Israeli army claims the operation has a security objective, “eliminating militants, ”as it said, Palestinian observers warned of undeclared goals, including expanding illegal settlements and pushing toward the displacement of Palestinians.

In the city of Jenin, the Israeli army executed two young Palestinians on Thursday after they surrendered, as video showed soldiers surrounding a building and firing at close range at the two Palestinians who exited with their hands raised.

The army said it is conducting a field investigation into the incident, claiming the two men were wanted and that forces had surrounded them for hours before opening fire after they left the building.

Alongside the two-year war in the Gaza Strip, where nearly 70,000 victims have been killed, assaults by the army and illegal settlers in the West Bank have killed at least 1,085 Palestinians and injured 11,000, while more than 20,500 have been detained, according to official Palestinian figures.

In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and urged the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.