Hamas says Israel’s West Bank assault part of bigger plan to usurp Palestinian lands

The ongoing military offensives by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank, which are currently concentrated in the city of Jenin, are a continuation of the war crimes committed by Israel throughout the Gaza Strip as well as the West Bank, Hamas said in a statement.

It added that these military actions are part of a plan to “grab more West Bank lands and expel its inhabitants.”

Hamas noted Israel’s recent military offensives, including those in Tulkarem and Tubas, have failed, and that “the inevitable outcome of the current aggression in Jenin will be the same.”

Since early Wednesday, the Israeli army has been conducting a large-scale and ongoing military offensive in the cities of Tulkarm, Jenin, and Tubas in the northern West Bank, which is the most extensive since 2002.

As of Friday afternoon, at least 20 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military assaults.

Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank amid a brutal Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 40,600 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7 last year.

At least 670 Palestinians have been killed, nearly 5,500 others injured, and over 10,300 arrested in the occupied territory, according to Palestinian figures.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.