ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Israeli military on Wednesday announced that it has begun “a broad counterterrorism operation” in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, coming amid an increasingly aggressive Israeli presence in the Palestinian territory.

The statement was posted in the early hours of the morning on X by the Israeli military, announcing a joint campaign with Shin Bet and the Israel Border Police, referring to the West Bank as “the area of northern Samaria.” It added that the forces “would not allow terrorism to take root in the area” and were “acting proactively to thwart it.”

Ahmed al-Asaad, governor of Tubas, told AFP that it was the first time Israeli forces had moved against the entire governorate, saying the whole area was now under military operation. He said the army had blocked the city’s entrances with earth mounds, effectively freezing movement in or out, and affirmed that “the operation is a political operation, not a security one."

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Wednesday evening that Israeli forces had imposed a curfew in the area and taken over several homes, forcing at least two dozen families to leave. These measures, the OCHA warned, were further fueling tensions in an already volatile environment.

The move comes amid mounting unrest in the area. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine has warned that the West Bank is on the brink of a third intifada, as Israeli authorities step up raids across the occupied territory.

Violence across the West Bank has surged alongside Israel’s genocide in Gaza that has seen nearly 70,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, 2023, according to local health authorities. Rights groups and UN officials say that, under cover of the Gaza offensive, Israeli forces and settlers have stepped up raids, shootings, land seizures and restrictions on Palestinian movement in the occupied territory.

More than 500,000 Israeli settlers now live in communities scattered across the West Bank, territory Israel has occupied since 1967. These settlements are deemed illegal under international law.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in incidents involving Israeli settlers or the Israeli military since October 2023.

The OCHA said this month that Israeli settlers carried out at least 264 attacks on Palestinians and their property in October, the highest monthly figure since the UN began systematically recording such incidents in 2006. Some videos circulating online showed dogs and sheep among the targets of settler violence.

The latest incidents also come as influential figures in Israel’s far-right governing coalition continue to press for the formal annexation of the West Bank, a move that would further entrench Israeli control over the territory and effectively end any prospect of a negotiated two-state solution.

The Israeli moves come in spite of a widely-stated international desire to pursure a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has been espoused by the UN and Western states.

A peace plan proposed by US President Donald Trump that brought about a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October offers provisions for the formation of a Palestinian state in the future, with European countries including France and the UK in recent months having unilaterally recognized Palestinian statehood.

Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, called for the protection of Palestinians in the West Bank at the beginning of the month.