Israel army destroys West Bank Palestinian memorials

Israel's military destroyed memorials across the occupied West Bank on Wednesday to Palestinians accused of killing Israelis or who died in clashes, the army and local officials said.

The operation took place on the third anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, though an army spokesperson did not explicitly link the action to the anniversary. The spokesperson said troops acted across the West Bank “to destroy monuments to terrorists”.

In the northern Jenin region, troops destroyed a stone monument and tore down commemorative posters, governorate spokeswoman Hala Abu Baker said. She said a memorial to Yasser Hamdouni was destroyed in Yaabad and photos of several “martyrs” were removed in Jenin.

Hamdouni was accused of killing an Israeli settler in 2003 and died in 2016 while serving a life sentence.

In Nablus, Israeli troops destroyed five memorials in different parts of the city and arrested scores of residents, deputy mayor Iyad Bakeer said.

Palestinians commonly refer to people killed by Israeli fire or in Israeli prisons as martyrs, and stone memorials or posters commemorating them are often seen in West Bank villages and towns. Israeli politicians have often denounced such monuments as glorifying attacks, but it is rare for the army to destroy them, especially in areas nominally under Palestinian Authority control.

Separately, in Beit Duqqu northwest of Jerusalem, the army destroyed the home of Qadri Samara, a Palestinian man accused of killing an Israeli settler last month, the town's mayor and an AFP journalist reported. Mayor Nazmi Mansour said Israeli forces entered the town at 4:00 am and distributed leaflets saying the home would be demolished.

Israel says home demolitions are meant to deter attacks. Rights groups accuse Israel of collectively punishing Palestinians' family members.

Violence has soared in the West Bank in the three years since the October 7 attack. According to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry data, Israeli forces or settlers have killed 1,113 Palestinians in the territory since the start of the Gaza war. Israeli figures show at least 49 Israelis, including civilians and security personnel, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations in the same period.