Israel raids towns in the West Bank... and settlers tamper with agricultural lands.

Arab Sea Newspaper - Special

Arab Gulf_Agencies: Israeli occupation forces stormed several towns and camps in the West Bank yesterday, Saturday, and arrested Palestinians amidst the closure of towns and the erection of military checkpoints, while settlers continue their attacks on Palestinian areas. Meanwhile, Palestinian tribal and official statements announced their absolute rejection of a leaked Israeli plan to establish an "authority" in the city of Hebron that would entrench the occupation. The Israeli army closed the two entrances to the town of Hizma, northeast of occupied Jerusalem, yesterday evening, Saturday, causing a traffic crisis on the Hizma-Anata road, while military vehicles stormed the town. Forces also stormed the Jalazone camp, north of Ramallah, and fired sound and gas bombs, with no injuries reported. They also stormed the towns of Dar Salah, Al-Ubaidiya, Al-Shawahra, and Za'atara in the Bethlehem Governorate. Security sources reported the arrest of 6 Palestinians, including brothers, after the occupation forces stormed the town of Al-Ubaidiya, while forces stormed the town of Tuqu', southeast of the governorate, and raided the house of Habes Dakhlallah Ahmed Al-Amour and handed him a summons to meet with their intelligence. At dawn, the forces stormed the town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin, with several military vehicles, deployed infantry units in the streets, and raided and searched a number of houses. Yesterday, Saturday, the forces arrested a Palestinian from the town of Al-Dhahiriya (south), and set up military checkpoints at the entrances to Hebron and its towns, villages, and camps, and closed a number of main and secondary roads with iron gates, concrete blocks, and earthen berms. In addition, settlers, under the protection of the occupation forces, released their livestock yesterday, Saturday, to graze in the lands of Palestinians planted with seedlings and fruit trees, in the village of Umm al-Khair, in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron. Settlers have been engaging in these practices in an attempt to seize Palestinian lands for the benefit of expanding the settlements built on Palestinian lands and properties south of Hebron. Settlers also stormed the Shallal Al-Auja Bedouin community north of Jericho and released their sheep in the middle of people's homes to destroy their property. On the other hand, the representative of the Hebron clans, Nafedh al-Jaabari, rejected what was published by the American "Wall Street Journal" newspaper about a proposal to establish a "tribal authority" in the city of Hebron, south of the occupied West Bank, in exchange for its recognition of Israel as a "Jewish state." The Governor of Hebron, Khaled Dudin, also affirmed that "whoever bets on the clans to entrench the occupation is delusional," stressing that Hebron is "an authentic pillar of the national project and cannot be separated from it," and that the only solution is "the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital under the banner of the Palestine Liberation Organization." He called on the people of the governorate to "reject disputes and fortify the internal front." "Israeli" media had reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an initial discussion on the plan of Economy Minister Nir Barkat, which stipulates separating Hebron from the Palestinian Authority and replacing it with a local tribal entity. According to reports, the plan includes the establishment of a joint industrial zone with an area of more than a thousand dunums near the security fence, and the employment of tens of thousands of Palestinian workers, in exchange for the proposed entity's recognition of Israel as a "Jewish state."