Israeli army continues incursion in West Bank city amid destruction of infrastructure

The Israeli army continued its incursion in the West Bank city of Tulkarem for the second consecutive day on Thursday amid destruction of infrastructure, witnesses said.

Israeli forces besieged the Nur Shams refugee camp in the city and staged house-to-house searches in the area, they added.

Witnesses said the Israeli army deployed additional forces in the camp with military bulldozers destroying infrastructure in the Nur Shams and Tulkarem refugee camps in the city.

At least one house was blown up by Israeli army forces amid reports of clashes with armed Palestinians in the Tulkarem camp.

The Israeli raid "is a new crime to be added to the Israeli list of crimes committed by Israel to spread chaos and destruction," Tulkarem Governor Abdullah Kamil said.

He said the assault aims to drain the Palestinian Authority's resources by destroying the infrastructure, markets, and public and private properties.

Over the past few years, the Israeli military has conducted regular raids in the West Bank, which have escalated with the beginning of the war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. Palestinians have also been violently attacked by illegal Israeli settlers.

Nearly 850 Palestinians have since been killed and over 6,700 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land illegal and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.