Authorities in the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem declared a general strike in all public institutions Thursday in protest of the death of three Palestinians during an IDF counterterrorism crackdown in the territory the day before, coupled with calls to the Palestinian public to "intensify confrontations with Israel."
Meanwhile, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit announced that security forces carried out another arrest sweep overnight throughout the West Bank.
Two Palestinians were reportedly killed in clashes with Israeli forces in Kafr Dan near Jenin, one of them is Shas Kamamji, brother of Iham Kamamji — one of the six Palestinian security prisoners who broke out of Israel's maximum-security Gilboa Prison last year and were caught after an extensive manhunt.
It is the latest in a string of high-stake operations carried out throughout the volatile territory in response to heightened security tension exacerbated by the holy month of Ramadan — a time of heightened religious fervor historically accompanied by an uptick in Palestinian violence — and the terror wave that struck Israel earlier this month which left 14 Israelis dead.
Shortly after the operation wrapped up, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett tweeted: "Every night this week, IDF fighters carried out proactive activities throughout the West Bank to catch terrorists and their accomplices in their homes."
IDF forces in the West Bank village of Silwad
The announcement from Ramallah and Bethlehem came hours after Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri — who is also considered the leader of the Gaza Strip-based terror group in the West Bank — issued his own call to the Palestinian public from his safe house in exile to “confront the ongoing invasion of Israeli forces to various cities and towns in the West Bank.”
"We are following developments and will make decisions to protect the Palestinian people and the holy places," the groups said in a statement following a meeting led by Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar.
"We call on our people in the West Bank, Jerusalem and Israel to pray at al-Aqsa Mosque this coming Friday, and call on the Palestinian resistance to stay vigilant and be prepared to defend the mosque."
Security forces also carried out a joint manhunt Wednesday for 33-years-old Hamas operative Mu'ad Hamed, who was a member of a terror cell that murdered Malachi Rosenfeld in 2015, after he managed to break out of a Palestinian prison in the West Bank.
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Muslim worshipers enter the Old City of Jerusalem on their way to the al-Aqsa mosque for Ramadan prayers
(Photo: Gil Yochanan)
According to the Shin Bet, Hamed may have been involved in planning another terrorist attack against Israeli targets. At the same time, IDF and Border Police forces arrived in a village near Silwad, where they believed the cell that was planning to assist Hamed hid.
Three Palestinians were arrested during the operation despite meeting heavy resistance from nearby Palestinians who threw stones at the forces' armored vehicles. Hamed himself was eventually arrested in the West Bank village of Kobar.