Occupation forces detained at least 40 Palestinians, including former prisoners, as it raided houses in the occupied West Bank.
Qatar renewed its condemnation and denunciation of ongoing Israeli attacks on Palestinians on Wednesday, as occupation forces shut down key Palestinian rights organisations in the West Bank.
The statements were made during the Cabinet’s weekly meeting, where Qatari officials took aim at the continuous repression, intimidation, arrests, home demolitions, as well as various other flagrant violations carried out by the Israeli regime.
According to Doha’s state news agency (QNA), the officials noted that the ongoing attacks, including the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, “undermine the chances of achieving peace” and eliminate the two-state solution while increasing regional tensions.
The Cabinet called on the international community to step up efforts in implementing a resolution to halt Israeli violence and acknowledge the Palestinian right to establish an independent state, based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The Gulf state recently played a crucial role in helping Egypt broker a ceasefire that ended the latest Israeli offensive in Gaza. Israel killed 49 Palestinians, including 17 children, during the three-day bombardment.
On Tuesday, Israeli forces admitted to killing five Palestinian children at the Al-Faluja Cemetery next to the Jabalia refugee camp during the latest Gaza offensive. Israel had initially pointed the blame on the Islamic Jihad group.
Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told a presser in Malaysia on Friday that his country is concerned over the situation in the besieged city.
“We are very much concerned about the deterioration about the humanitarian situation there in Palestine and especially in Gaza after the last round of bombing that the people of Gaza have been exposed to,” said Sheikh Mohammed.
Qatar has long committed to the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which was adopted by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) at the time and stipulates that member countries shall refrain from normalising with Israel until it fully withdraws from lands occupied in 1967.
West Bank raids
Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces conducted new raids in the West Bank late on Wednesday.
Palestinian writer and researcher Mariam Barghouti tweeted that Israeli forces conducted a massive assault on various towns and cities across the West Bank, killing one youth.
According to Palestine’s news agency (WAFA), occupation forces detained at least 40 Palestinians, including former prisoners, as it raided houses.
The Zionist regime also shut down and looted offices of six key Palestinian rights organisations including Al-Haq, Addameer, Defence for Children International, Bisan Center for Research and Development, Union of Agricultural Work Committees, and Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees.
“This morning, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) raided Al-Haq’s office in Ramallah, confiscated items and shut down the main entrance with an iron plate leaving behind a military order declaring the organisation unlawful,” tweeted Al-Haq.
Last year, Israel designated the six Palestinian NGOs as “terrorist” organisations, sparking global uproar.
Last month, foreign ministries of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden described the designation of the NGO’s as unjustified.
“Should evidence be made available to the contrary, we would act accordingly. In the absence of such evidence, we will continue our cooperation and strong support for the civil society in the OPT. A free and strong civil society is indispensable for promoting democratic values and for the two-state solution,” the European ministries said in a joint statement.
The raids come a week after Israel killed three Palestinians, including prominent resistance fighter Ibrahim Al-Nabulsi, during a previous raid on a house in Nablus.
Nabulsi, a prominent Palestinian resistance fighter, was one of Israel’s most wanted people in the northern West Bank city and had survived previous assassination attempts.
Nabulsi, 19, along with Islam Sobhi and Hussain Jamal Taha, were pronounced dead in Rafidia Hospital, raising the total number of Palestinians murdered by Israeli forces in 2022 to 129, including at least 34 children, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
On Monday, Israeli forces shot and killed Muhammad Al-Shaham and took his body in their military vehicles. Israel, the region’s only nuclear power, claimed Al-Shaham attacked armed officers with a knife.
