WEST BANK (Palestine Foundation Information Center) The Israeli occupation forces have intensified closures across the West Bank, sealing off more entrances and intersections in Salfit, Nablus, northern Jerusalem, and Tulkarem as part of ongoing restrictions on Palestinian movement and mobility.
The Israeli forces opened fire on civilians at the entrance to the town of Qarawat Bani Hassan, west of Salfit, as they attempted to pass through iron gates installed in the area.
Additionally, an Israeli military bulldozer closed off one of the entrances to the town of Jinsafut, east of Qalqilya, while settler mobs attacked Palestinian vehicles in the Rammeen Valley and Burqa areas in the northern West Bank.
These actions coincided with an Israeli military raid in the town of Zeita, north of Tulkarem.
Senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Mardawi earlier stated that the comprehensive siege imposed by Israeli forces on West Bank cities constitutes a collective punishment and is yet another crime added to the occupation’s dark record of targeting the Palestinian people.
Mardawi explained that the blockade of main entrances in the West Bank and the restriction of citizens’ movement is a form of collective punishment, in blatant violation of basic principles of international humanitarian law.
