Escalation in the West Bank and Gaza intensifies.. Stabbing of a settler and Israeli airstrike on a fuel station

Health authorities in Gaza announced that an Israeli occupation army strike on a fuel station producing synthetic diesel, located opposite the entrance to the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, killed one Palestinian and injured two others. In a press statement, health officials said the victims were transported to Al-Shuhada Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, noting that one of the injured is in critical condition.

This development coincided with an escalation and intensification of tensions in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli police announced that a settler was injured in a stabbing attack near the village of Al-Uja in the Jordan Valley area. The Israeli ambulance service stated that the victim suffered a stab wound to his upper body, while the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that the injured man was an Israeli settler in his twenties. The attacker fled the scene, prompting a search operation involving Israeli army and police forces.

The stabbing occurred amid a rising wave of tension in the West Bank for several weeks, which began with clashes that resulted in the deaths of four Palestinians and two Israelis. The situation later expanded to include Israeli raids, arrests, and tightened military restrictions, alongside escalating settler attacks and Israeli government measures to expand settlements, establish new outposts, and prepare for a wide-ranging security operation.

For the 15th consecutive day, settlers continued to besiege three Palestinian homes in the town of Qusra, south of Nablus, amid a heavy presence of Israeli army forces, which restricted the movement of residents. Calls for urgent intervention to end the siege have intensified. Meanwhile, settlers renewed their attempts to establish a new outpost in the Ras al-Ayn area.

In another development, Palestinian concerns have risen regarding the repercussions of Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz’s plan to transfer authority within Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank from the army to the police, which is under the control of far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Israeli military leadership warned the political leadership that the West Bank is approaching a wave of violent escalation, amid ongoing settler violence and the expansion of illegal outposts, according to Channel 12 Israeli news.

This came as occupation forces launched a wave of arrests yesterday during raids on various areas of the West Bank. Local sources reported that occupation forces searched homes, detained and interrogated Palestinians, and assaulted them, alongside clashes and injuries. Occupation forces also closed the western entrance to the village of Al-Mughair, northeast of Ramallah, and fired tear gas canisters at residents. Additionally, occupation forces set up military checkpoints at the entrances to Hebron and its towns, villages, and refugee camps, closing several main and secondary roads using iron gates, concrete blocks, and earth berms.

Politically, Egyptian Foreign Minister Dr. Badr Abdelatty discussed the serious developments in the West Bank with Palestinian Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh.