Photo credit: Hindustan Times
A major Israeli offensive which has displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians and ravaged camps increasingly appears to be aligned with the “vision of annexation” of the West Bank, a UN official told AFP.
Daily News reports that Israeli forces carry out regular raids targeting militants in the West Bank, occupied since 1967. However, the ongoing operation since late January is already the longest in two decades with dire effects on Palestinians.
“There are growing concerns that the reality being created on the ground aligns with the vision of annexation of the West Bank,” said Roland Friedrich, director of West Bank affairs for UNRWA.
He continued: “It’s an unprecedented situation, both from a humanitarian and wider political perspective.
“We talk about 40,000 people that have been forcibly displaced from their homes” in the northern West Bank, mainly from three refugee camps where the operation had begun.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has said troops would remain for many months in the evacuated camps to “prevent the return of residents and the resurgence of terrorism”.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also said: that Israel would be: “applying sovereignty” over parts of the territory in 2025.
Last year the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion saying that Israel’s prolonged presence in the West Bank was unlawful.
