Responding to the launch of a major Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank targeting several Palestinian cities and towns including Jenin, Tulkarem, Nablus and Tubas, and deploying hundreds of soldiers to carry out raids supported by fighter jets, drones and bulldozers, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns, Erika Guevara Rosas said:
“Israel’s launch of a major coordinated military assault on cities and towns across the occupied West Bank follows an escalation in unlawful killings by Israeli forces in recent months and will put more Palestinians at risk.
“Since October, last year, there has been a horrifying spike in lethal force by Israeli forces and violent state-back settler attacks in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, with Israeli forces and settlers killing at least 622 Palestinians, including at least 142 children.
“Ongoing military operations on this scale will undoubtedly lead to an escalation in deadly violence, resulting in further loss of Palestinian lives. It is likely that these operations will result in an increase in forced displacement, destruction of critical infrastructure and measures of collective punishment, which have been key pillars of Israel’s system of apartheid against Palestinians and of its unlawful occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
“Amid alarming reports that Israeli forces have encircled and blocked off access to hospitals, Amnesty International urges the Israeli authorities to take action to safeguard health facilities and personnel. Furthermore, they must guarantee that individuals in need of medical attention are able to access the care they require. As the occupying power, Israel has a clear obligation to protect Palestinians, their homes and the infrastructure throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
Amnesty International previously documented how Israeli forces unleashed a brutal wave of violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank following the deadly 7 October attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in southern Israel. This research highlighted how Israeli forces carried out unlawful killings, including by using lethal force without necessity or disproportionately during protests and arrest raids, and denying medical assistance to those injured.
Amnesty International has also documented the shocking increase in state-backed settler violence against Palestinians. These patterns, continue unabated as Israeli forces have also escalated their use of arrests, including arbitrary detention, to crush any form of Palestinian dissent.
