Hamas warns of global silence on Israeli aggression in occupied West Bank, demands immediate action

The Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, has warned of the consequences of continued international silence about Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people, including forced displacement and the demolition of homes in refugee camps across the occupied West Bank.

Hamas urged the UN and its institutions “to take immediate and effective action to stop Israel’s ongoing and horrific violations of international law,” according to a statement on Saturday.

It condemned Israel’s demolition of homes and residential buildings in the Nur Shams camp, east of Tulkarem in the northern occupied West Bank, along with forced displacement of Palestinians at gunpoint.

Hamas described Israeli actions as “a serious violation of international law and a blatant war crime committed in full view of the world.”

The group also denounced Israeli military offensives in the occupied West Bank and the "systematic terror" against Palestinians, calling them "desperate and futile attempts to break the will of the resistance."

‘Unlawful’

Early on Saturday, the Israeli army demolished the walls of 11 homes in the al-Manshiya neighbourhood of the Nur Shams refugee camp, where a military offensive has been ongoing for 21 days.

The army has been conducting deadly raids in the northern occupied West Bank since January 21, killing at least 64 victims and displacing thousands.

Palestinian authorities have warned that the offensive is part of a broader plan by the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex the West Bank and declare sovereignty over it.

The raids were the latest in the military escalation in the occupied West Bank, where at least 927 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 7,000 wounded in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers since the start of the onslaught against Gaza on October 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The International Court of Justice declared in July that Israel’s long-standing occupation of Palestinian territories is "unlawful," demanding the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.