Israel Trying To Turn West Bank Into 'Ghettos': Palestinians

The Israeli army is carrying out a plan to turn Palestinian towns in the occupied West Bank into "ghettos," Palestinian residents told Anadolu on Thursday.

"The army is seeking to fully control the West Bank by erecting roadblocks and military checkpoints," Abdullah Abu Rahma, a local activist, told Anadolu.

The army "is also using settlers to attack Palestinian vehicles and populated neighborhoods," he added.

Israeli officials have spoken of flare-ups in the West Bank in solidarity with the Gaza Strip, which has been under a massive Israeli air campaign since Oct. 7.

"Israel is taking advantage of the global preoccupation with Gaza to implement an old plan to turn the West Bank into ghettos," Abu Rahma said.

For years, Israeli settlements in the West Bank – which are illegal under international law – have sought to divide Palestinian land, making a contiguous Palestinian state harder and harder to assemble.

Israel launched non-stop airstrikes on the Gaza Strip following an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas on Israeli border towns.

At least 3,478 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza, while the figure stands at more than 1,400 people in Israel.​​​​​​​

Gaza is facing a dire humanitarian crisis, with no electricity, while water, food, fuel, and medical supplies are quickly running out.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire" to ease the "epic human suffering."

"As Israel closes roads, I take side roads through villages and fields to reach my workplace in the central city of Ramallah," Azzam Jabr, a Palestinian driver from Tulkarm in the northern West Bank, told Anadolu.

"Many roads are closed, which forces us to take side roads," he added.

"Walking on main roads is also dangerous due to attacks by Israeli settlers," Jabr said.

Alongside the Gaza conflict, Israel has launched a mass arrest campaign across the occupied West Bank.

According to the Palestinian Prisoner Society, a local nongovernmental organization, since Oct. 7, around 850 Palestinians have been detained by Israeli forces in the West Bank.​​​​​​​ -