Condemn Military Operations In The West Bank, Indonesian Ministry Of Foreign Affairs: Show Israel's Intention To Make Its Population Permanent Palestine

JAKARTA - Indonesia strongly condemns the continued military operation of Israel in the West Bank which is considered to have shown its intention to make its occupation permanent in the Palestinian territories.

Israel is known to have launched a military operation into the West Bank region on January 21, two days after a ceasefire agreement with the Palestinian militant group Hamas took effect in the Gaza Strip.

Attacks in the West Bank have gradually spread, covering several refugee camps near Jenin City, Tulkarm and Tubas.

"Indonesia strongly condemns the massive military operation by Israel against Palestinians in the West Bank," said Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Roy Soemirat in a press statement in Jakarta, Thursday, March 6.

"This operation has again shown Israel's main intention to make its occupation permanent in the Palestinian territories," he said.

"Indonesia will never tire of continuing to emphasize the root of this conflict problem is denial of the rights of the Palestinian people to determine their own destiny," added Roy.

It is known that at least 40,000 Palestinians have fled their homes in Jenin and the nearby city of Tulkarm in the northern West Bank since Israel began operations last month after reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza after 15 months of war.

Eight-two Palestinians were killed in the West Bank between January 1 and February 13, according to the latest WHO data.

Last month, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday condemned the escalating violence by Israeli settlers, as well as calls for annexation following the announcement of the expansion of Israeli military operations in the West Bank, Palestine.

"I am deeply concerned by the increasing violence in the West Bank occupied by Israeli settlers and other offenses, as well as calls for annexation," Secretary General Guterres told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

Late last month, the Israeli military also announced the deployment of tanks in Jenin, where they "expanded" operations.

This marks the first time tanks have operated in the West Bank since the end of a second Palestinian intifada, or insurgency, in 2005.

Violence in the West Bank region has surged since the start of the Gaza war, which broke out following the Hamas deadly attack on October 7, 2023 in Israel.

Last week, international human rights organization Human Rights Watch warned Israel against repeating violations in the occupied Gaza Strip in the West Bank.

Human Rights Watch urges countries to take action to prevent further atrocities in occupied Palestinian territories, including by imposing sanctions aimed at those involved in ongoing serious offenses, suspending arms transfers to Israel, banning trade with Israeli illegal settlements.