Ramallah, March 8, 2026 (WAFA) – Muhannad Jadou
As usual, the Israeli occupation is exploiting the state of regional tension and increasing international preoccupation, despite being a party to it, to escalate its violations against the Palestinian people in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, by intensifying attacks by the army and settlers and tightening military measures, in the context of clear plans aimed at forced displacement and imposing new realities on the ground .
Since the start of the war: 8 martyrs, including 5 killed by settlers’ bullets
During the first week of the war, from 2/28/2026 to 3/8/2026, the West Bank witnessed a significant escalation in settler violations, estimated to have increased by approximately 25% compared to the period preceding the outbreak of the Israeli-American military confrontation with Iran .
During this period, 8 martyrs were killed; five of them were killed by settlers’ bullets, namely: Thaer Farouq Hamayel (24 years old), and Fares Jawdat Hamayel (57 years old) from the village of Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah, and the two brothers, Muhammad Taha Abdul Majeed Muammar (52 years old) and Fahim Abdul Majeed Muammar (47 years old) from the village of Qaryut, south of Nablus, in addition to Amir Muhammad Shanaran (27 years old) from the town of Yatta, south of Hebron .
The two young men, Muhammad Jihad Masalmeh from the town of Dura, and Tamer Ismail Qaisiya from the town of Al-Dhahiriya, were martyred after being wounded by the bullets of the occupation forces in Hebron. Meanwhile, citizen Muhammad Hussein Murra (55 years old) from the village of Abu Falah was martyred as a result of inhaling tear gas, which was fired by the occupation forces while they were providing protection for an attack carried out by settlers on the village .
Military siege and the fragmentation of cities :
Although the theater of direct military operations is located outside Palestinian territories, the occupation authorities have imposed strict and unprecedented military measures since the outbreak of the confrontation under the pretext of “providing security”.
These measures included: closing many main roads and iron gates that connect Palestinian cities and towns, in addition to tightening control over existing military checkpoints .
These measures have impacted the daily lives of citizens, completely hindering their movement and disrupting employees’ access to their workplaces, while cities are suffering from an economic recession as Eid al-Fitr approaches.
Persecution and displacement in Bedouin communities :
Several areas witnessed a series of brutal settler attacks; in the town of Beit Anan, northwest of Jerusalem, a citizen was moderately injured after settlers attacked him in the middle of his family on his agricultural land.
In the Bedouin community of Ma’azi Jaba’ north of Jerusalem, a child was injured during an attack by settlers that included the destruction of property and the killing of a number of livestock.
In the northern Jordan Valley, eight citizens were injured as a result of an attack by settlers in the Ras al-Ahmar area, south of Tubas .
In a dangerous development reflecting the policy of displacement, six Palestinian families in the village of Al-Aqaba, east of Tubas, were forced to dismantle their homes and tents in preparation for leaving, after an escalation of attacks against them, during which 12 citizens were injured by the bullets of the occupation army after they tried to confront an attack by settlers.
The attacks also targeted children in the “Rahoum Aali” area of Masafer Yatta, and injuries from live ammunition were recorded in Khirbet Yarza and the town of Qaryut, in addition to the theft of sheep in the village of Ramoun, east of Ramallah, and the spraying of shepherds with pepper spray in the Jordan Valley .
Arrests, destruction of property, and uprooting of hundreds of trees :
During the same period, the Israeli occupation forces intensified their military measures in various governorates of the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and launched widespread arrest campaigns that affected hundreds of citizens, and included field investigations, raids on homes, and destruction of contents and property.
Statistics from the relevant institutions indicated that the number of detainees during the past week exceeded 225 citizens from various Palestinian governorates, including women and children.
While it was decided to postpone all court sessions in the pleading stage for prisoners in the Ofer and Salem courts, for the second week in a row, and to postpone all appeal sessions for administrative prisoners indefinitely, with lawyers from the West Bank being prevented from entering the two courts due to the closures imposed on areas of the West Bank.
The occupation forces and settlers uprooted hundreds of olive trees in several areas, including the town of Idhna, west of Hebron, where more than 130 olive trees belonging to the Salimiya family were uprooted, in addition to uprooting dozens of trees in the towns of Biddu and Beit Iksa, northwest of Jerusalem, the village of Jorat al-Shama’a, south of Bethlehem, and the town of Turmus Ayya, northeast of Ramallah, as well as issuing a notice to uproot olive trees in the town of Ni’lin on an area exceeding 100 dunams .
The occupation forces also set up new military gates at the entrances to a number of villages in the Jordan Valley and north of Jericho, as part of tightening restrictions on the movement of citizens, while they seized a number of houses in Bethlehem, Salfit and Jenin and turned them into military barracks and sniper posts after detaining their residents inside them .
Seizing control of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa:
In occupied Jerusalem, the occupation exploited regional tensions to tighten restrictions, closing the Al-Aqsa Mosque and preventing prayers there, including Friday and Taraweeh prayers, and preventing Palestinians from the West Bank and the 1948 territories from accessing the city, in addition to closing the Old City and allowing entry only to its residents .
These measures coincided with the month of Ramadan, causing heavy losses for about 1,400 merchants in the Old City of Jerusalem who depend on this religious season. Meanwhile, excavation work continues under the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the absence of worshippers and those stationed there due to restrictions, which raises fears that these circumstances will be exploited to impose new realities on the ground, in line with policies of temporal and spatial division of holy sites .
This was accompanied by a warning from United Nations experts that Jerusalem is suffering irreparable damage as a result of the acceleration of Israeli measures aimed at changing its demographic composition, religious character and legal status within the framework of reshaping the demographic reality in the city and imposing exclusive hegemony over it.
In Hebron, the occupation authorities completely closed the Ibrahimi Mosque and prevented Waqf employees from entering it, and turned the neighborhoods of the Old City and its surroundings into a military zone, in a move that observers considered part of the measures aimed at imposing more control over the holy sites .
Continued bombardment of Gaza and tightening of restrictions on crossings :
The occupation forces continued to bomb various areas of the Gaza Strip and imposed strict restrictions on land crossings, limiting the movement of civilians and the entry of humanitarian aid and basic materials, and increasing the suffering of the sick and wounded, despite the declared ceasefire agreement since last October .
According to the Ministry of Health, the number of martyrs and wounded since the start of the agreement has reached 641 martyrs and 1,711 wounded, in addition to the recovery of 755 bodies, while the toll of the Israeli aggression on the sector since October 7, 2023 has risen to 72,126 martyrs and 171,809 wounded .
International bodies have warned that the regional escalation will directly impact the humanitarian situation in Gaza, at a time when the stock of medicines in the Gaza Strip is dwindling and access to medical supplies to the Strip is declining.
The World Health Organization stated that without consistent access to aid, including the safe transport of medical supplies and the resumption of medical evacuations, patients will continue to face life-threatening delays in accessing care .
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) indicated that the rotation of UN staff has been postponed, leading to the suspension of medical evacuations and the return of residents, despite efforts to maintain the flow of supplies, stressing that the continuation of the complete blockade threatens to stop them .
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M.J.
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