The Israeli army said in a statement, "Based on a situational assessment, it was decided to reinforce the Central Command with two additional battalions." The Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth explained that the central command refers to the West Bank.
Earlier, the Israeli army revealed that it had decided to reinforce its forces with "two additional divisions," later amending the number to "two battalions," without specifying the number of troops currently present in the West Bank.
The occupation did not reveal the motives behind the escalation of the deployment of two battalions, but indicated that during the war, the situation is being continuously assessed to determine the size of the forces necessary to carry out operational missions on various fronts, without specifying the nature of the missions.
In a related context, the occupation forces arrested two Palestinians from the towns of Surf and Yatta, north and south of Hebron, namely Mahmoud Hani Idais and Ghassan Iskaf Ghneimat, according to what was reported by the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA).
Israeli occupation forces raided several neighborhoods in Hebron, including the southern part, and searched several homes. They intensified repressive measures in the Old City, at the entrances to the Hebron Governorate, and around the Ibrahimi Mosque.
As part of the escalating settlement attacks, settlers damaged a water tank belonging to citizen Radi Khalil Zawahra from the Burj community in the northern Jordan Valley.
In Bethlehem, several Palestinians, including children, were injured and bruised after being attacked by settlers under the protection of the Israeli occupation army near the village of Al-Minya, southeast of the city.
Al-Minya village council head Zayed Kawazbeh told WAFA in a phone call that settlers, under the protection of the Israeli army, attacked approximately 10 homes in the Wadi Sa'ir area near the village, throwing stones at them, shattering their windows and sparking panic among residents.
Kawazbeh added, "A number of citizens also suffered from suffocation after the occupation forces fired tear gas canisters at homes."
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that it had treated a 3-year-old girl who was injured in the head after being attacked by settlers near Al-Minya.
Since the beginning of this year, the occupied West Bank has witnessed a significant Israeli escalation, particularly in the refugee camps in the north, through the erection of roadblocks and the implementation of arrests throughout the area.
The Israeli occupation army and settlers have escalated their attacks in the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, resulting in the deaths of at least 996 Palestinians, the injury of nearly 7,000 others, and the arrest of more than 18,000 others, according to Palestinian data.
This comes as Israel, with full US support, has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving more than 195,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands displaced.
