Israeli troops broke into a number of mosques in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, using loudspeakers to sing Jewish songs in a “provocative step” that comes amid reports of gunfire, dozens of deaths and restricted hospital access in the city of Jenin.
Videos circulated on social media show the troops storming the mosques and using the loudspeakers that broadcast the Muslim call to prayer. They start singing Jewish songs afterward.
One video shows Israeli troops addressing residents of a refugee camp in Jenin, telling them that the “story is over, we will not allow the presence of armed men inside the camp.”
דיווחים פלסטינים: חיילי צה”ל משתמשים בכרוז של אחד המסגדים במחנה הפליטים ג’נין ומשמיעים בו שירי חנוכה וקריאות שמע ישראל | תיעוד@eliorlevy pic.twitter.com/Pcr53t2Wcb
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) December 14, 2023
The Palestinian news agency Wafa said the move was “a provocative step, indicating the outbreak of violent confrontations with the occupation forces.”
The incident came during a day-long raid by Israeli troops in Jenin.
Palestinian health authorities said on Thursday at least 12 Palestinians were killed since Israeli forces started their assault on the city on Tuesday.
Reports say all roads leading to the refugee camp have been destroyed by military bulldozers.
The regime forces have also surrounded hospitals in the city, blocking ambulances from evacuating the sick and injured. They also prevent wounded Palestinians from going to hospital.
The charity organization Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym as MSF, said ambulances have been stopped from reaching wounded Palestinians. It warned people are dying “because they can’t access hospitals.”
The regime forces fire tear gas at the hospital, said the charity group. “People are now being treated for tear gas inhalation, including a medical worker. Once again, medical staff have been forced to treat their own colleagues.”
Jenin’s acting governor Kamal Abu al-Rub said on Thursday more Israeli forces were heading towards the city and the refugee camp.
The raid on Jenin, which began on Tuesday, is the regime’s 15th incursion into the occupied territories since Tel Aviv launched its onslaught on Gaza on October 7. Ever since, Israeli forces have killed 58 people, including children, in Jenin alone.
