Palestinians protest against violent crackdown by Israeli forces in West Bank

Palestinian demonstrators set up a barricade during clashes with Israeli forces at a protest over the killing of Palestinian gunmen in an Israeli raid, near the settlement of Beit El, near Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. (Reuters)

• The demonstrations took place the day after army incursions into Jenin that left four Palestinians, including a 7-year-old boy, dead and more than 50 injured
• Ibrahim Melhem, a spokesperson for the Palestinian government, said Palestinians from all sections of society are paying the price for the unjustified Israeli violence

RAMALLAH: Dozens of Palestinians demonstrated in the center of Ramallah on Thursday in response to a violent crackdown by Israeli authorities in the West Bank this week.
A strike was organized in protest against the Israeli army’s incursion into Jenin on Wednesday that left four Palestinians dead and more than 50 injured.
Palestinian medical sources at the Beit Jala Hospital said on Thursday that a 7-year-old boy was among the dead. Witnesses said Rayan Suleiman was with a group of Palestinian youths who were chased by Israeli soldiers on Wednesday during a confrontation in Taqua village in southeastern Bethlehem. He reportedly collapsed after his heart stopped. He was taken to the hospital but declared dead.
Ibrahim Melhem, a spokesperson for the Palestinian government, described the situation in the West Bank as intimidating and said Palestinians from all sections of society are paying the price for the unjustified Israeli violence.
He criticized Israeli soldiers for terrorizing students by carrying out raids on schools, resulting in incidents such as the one that caused the death of Rayan.
“The mere presence of soldiers in schools is a terrifying sight, so what about when they arrest students?” Melhem said.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry described Rayan’s death as a “heinous crime committed by the occupation forces.”
It said it holds the Israeli government directly responsible for the escalation in violence and condemned the aggression of the occupation forces in their violent incursions into Palestinian areas, measures that restrict the movement of Palestinians in their own land, the demolitions of Palestinian homes carried out by Israeli forces, and attacks by settler militias that take place under the supervision, protection and support of the Israeli government and its various military and security arms.
Wasel Abu Yousef, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee, told Arab News that Israel is waging an open and comprehensive war against Palestinian citizens, targeting their land and holy sites in an attempt to break the will of the people and using Palestinian blood to secure votes from the extremist right in elections scheduled for Nov. 1.
A Palestinian citizen from Jenin told Arab news: “We struggled for 54 years to have an independent Palestinian state, not to get a work permit in construction or agriculture in Israel.”
Suhair Freitech, a Palestinian political activist from Nablus, told Arab News that the Israeli actions are designed to give the impression that there is no Palestinian political partner, in the leadership or among communities, that wants peace. In this way, he added, Israeli authorities can justify their violence against Palestinians.
The Israeli soldiers who protect settlers who storm Al-Aqsa Mosque portray the Palestinians who resist such incursions as terrorists, Freitech said, adding: “The real terrorists are the settlers who steal Palestinian land.”
Meanwhile, Israeli Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked has ordered the deportation of several relatives of a Palestinian man who carried out a deadly attack five years ago in East Jerusalem.
In a message posted on Twitter, Shaked said she sent a notice to seven people related to Fadi Al-Qanbar, who killed four Israeli soldiers in a truck-ramming attack in Abu Tor neighborhood in 2017, telling them to “leave the country within a week or be forcefully deported.”
Jessica Montel, director of the Israel-based human rights organization HaMoked, told Arab News: “This is a political stunt, trying to win votes from the ultranationalists at the expense of East Jerusalem Palestinians.
“HaMoked is preparing an appeal to the Jerusalem District Court, challenging it. This is collective punishment and we hope the court will agree that this is unacceptable and prevent these deportations.”