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Israeli forces have detained several Palestinians during a raid in the Qalandiya refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, while demolishing a carwash and disrupting daily life in the area.
Palestinian agency Quds News Network reported on Wednesday that Israeli soldiers distributed leaflets stating that “a large-scale operation” in the camp was under way.
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A journalist covering the raid was severely beaten, while a young man was run over by an Israeli military vehicle. His condition is not known.
Footage posted by Quds shows several Israeli soldiers aggressively confronting a Palestinian man, who appears to be unarmed, before tackling him to the ground while pointing assault rifles at him. Local mosques were prevented from holding dawn prayers.
Rights groups have condemned the constant raids across the occupied West Bank and worsening living conditions. The Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem says the plan is to make the territory “unliveable” for Palestinians.
Reporting from the Qalandiya camp, Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim said an average of 50 raids have taken place daily across the West Bank in recent weeks.
“We’ve seen how they continue to intimidate people. They’ve been seen assaulting young men; assaulting people who have nothing to do with the raid for no reason whatsoever. But this is part of living under Israel’s occupation,” Ibrahim said.
“We’ve seen the Israeli forces using stun grenades to try and disperse journalists and prevent them from telling the story of what’s happening. We don’t know why the Israeli forces are here,” Ibrahim said.
“Are they here to conduct a large-scale demolition? Are they here to gather intelligence? Are they here to conduct arrests? Or just simply to remind Palestinians that they can raid refugee camps; that they can raid any place they want, whenever they want?”
Piles of rocks blocking entrances to the Qalandiya camp can be seen in pictures circulating online. According to online news magazine The Cradle, Israeli forces blocked several entrances leading to the camp.
Last week, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz instructed the military to seize control of another refugee camp and replicate the military presence established in Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams. Human Rights Watch has warned that such actions could potentially amount to more acts of ethnic cleansing and war crimes carried out by Israel against Palestinians.
Settler violence has also surged in the West Bank since Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza nearly three years ago. Rights groups accuse the Israeli government of supporting such attacks, while far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have been barred from entering some European countries due to their actions, including what has been described as “inciting violence”.
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