Above photo: Reuters.
Israel’s three-day raid in Tulkarem resulted in widespread destruction of infrastructure in the city’s Nour Shams camp.
A comprehensive strike was declared across the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarem on 21 April in mourning of at least 19 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces during a three-day raid there.
Israeli troops withdrew from the city earlier on 21 April, after inflicting widespread destruction in Tulkarem’s Nour Shams refugee camp.
Hamas called in a statement after midnight on Saturday for all people “to ignite confrontations with the criminal Zionist occupation … in the West Bank and Al-Quds, in response to the criminal massacre in Nour Shams camp in Tulkarem.”
“As we mourn the noble martyrs of Tulkarem who faced the occupation forces with determination and defiance, we affirm that Zionist criminality will not bring security to the occupation and that the resistance of our people continues … We also call on our people in the West Bank to adhere to the general strike tomorrow, Sunday, and for all squares and confrontation points to turn into a blaze of flames in the face of the occupation,” the Hamas statement added. Streets were emptied after the strike was called.
The Palestinian Authority’s (PA) Fatah party also called for a strike and an escalation across the West Bank in response to the massacre in Tulkarem and the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Israeli troops invaded Tulkarem’s Nour Shams refugee camp on 18 April. Clashes between the army and several Palestinian resistance factions in the camp were ongoing until Israeli forces withdrew fully on Sunday morning. Several Israeli soldiers were injured by the resistance.
Among the at least 19 Palestinians killed were several resistance fighters. At least four of their bodies are being held by Israel.
Children are among those who were killed by Israeli forces during the raid, including 16-year-old Qais Nasrallah.
The Israeli army cut off water, electricity, and internet services across Nour Shams camp on 20 April. Ambulance crews were prevented from entering and retrieving the bodies of several who remained inside the camp.
Snipers were deployed in the homes of several residents, who were detained and kept in Israeli custody inside their houses.
Israeli army bulldozers persisted with deliberate destruction of infrastructure across the camp. Video footage from Saturday afternoon showed an Israeli bulldozer destroying Nour Shams’ Haifa bakery.
Violent and destructive army raids in West Bank cities, particularly Tulkarem, have increased – and settlers continue to launch wide-scale attacks on villages, burning homes and vehicles and attacking Palestinian civilians. As a result, resistance operations have surged in the occupied West Bank.
An Israeli reservist was wounded on 21 April after kicking over a Palestinian flag that had been rigged with explosives.
The operation took place in Al-Mughayyir in the city of Ramallah, where settlers had rampaged violently last week.