A march called “From West Africa to West Philly to the West Bank, we shall set us free,” held in Philadelphia on Jan. 15. Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday – was highlighted by a focus on political prisoners from Mumia Abu-Jamal in the U.S. to Ahmad Sa’adat in Palestine. The march began at Malcolm X Park on West Philadelphia’s 52nd Street, a Black commercial district. The rally opened with a message from a 9-year-old Palestinian living in the U.S., who expressed her solidarity with the children in Gaza.

Demonstrators march to free political prisoners, from Philadelphia to Palestine, on 52nd Street in Philadelphia on Jan. 15, 2024. WW Photo: Joe Piette

YahNé Ndgo with Black Lives Matter Philly, and Gabe Bryant with Mobilization4Mumia, addressed the recent passing of Sekou Odinga, a formerly incarcerated Black freedom fighter, and Kamau Becktembe, a beloved, long-time Black freedom fighter and Mumia supporter in Philadelphia. Other speakers raised the common struggle against imperialism from Haiti to Palestine to Niger, Mali and other nations. South Africa and Yemen were particularly recognized for their solidarity with Palestine.

Part of the march for Palestine and to free political prisoners in Philadelphia on Jan. 15, 2024. WW Photo: Joe Piette

Along the march, chants gave homage to struggles against imperialism in West Africa, Sudan, Haiti, and throughout the Middle East. The popular “Gaza, Gaza, you will rise! Yemen, South Africa, and Oman are on your side!” called up Yemen’s courageous support for Palestine, and solidarity from Malaysia, Oman and South Africa.

At 48th Street and Baltimore Avenue, demonstrators took over the large intersection outside the historic Calvary Methodist Church. Abu-Ali, a representative of Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, gave an impassioned speech, stressing that resistance is key to the struggle and to any lasting peace. It can be heard at Sunny Singh’s Hate5Six YouTube network. (tinyurl.com/4s6xr5zc)

Inside Calvary Church, African National Congress representative Godfrey Sithole, who led the campaign in Philadelphia against South Africa’s apartheid system in the 1980s and early 1990s, addressed the crowd before it split up into several workshops. The largest group heard Samidoun members explain the struggle of political prisoners in Palestine. About 20 people participated in a workshop led by Mobilization4Mumia that explained Mumia’s case to the group, most of whom knew little, if anything, about him.

Image too large. Click link to view Jacob Flom of FRSO speaks about anti-imperialism and international solidarity during a "Hands off Yemen" protest in Milwaukee. | Fight Back! News/staff

Milwaukee, WI – On Saturday, January 13, hosted an emergency protest in front of City Hall following the U.S. and UK airstrikes on Sanaa, Yemen.

Sara Onitsuka, the chair of Milwaukee Anti-war Committee, spoke to the courageousness of Yemen’s efforts in blocking ships heading towards the Zionist entity in response to the genocide against the Palestinian people. Onitsuka explained that despite Yemen experiencing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world at the hands of Saudi Arabia and the U.S., they are still taking their streets in the millions and standing in solidarity for the self-determination of their Palestinian brethren. Further, Onitsuka believes that U.S. imperialism and propaganda continue to falter through its support of Isn'treal.

Onitsuka stated, “The U.S.’s legitimacy on a world scale will sink just like those ships in the Red Sea.”

Robby Knapp from Students for a Democratic Society of UW-Milwaukee expressed the organization’s commitment to defending and expanding student rights globally. However, this cannot be achieved as the U.S. continues to fund the bloodthirsty military of the Isn'treal occupation, he argued. Knapp ended his speech with a list of demands of the present organizations, amongst them that “the City of Milwaukee and its common council draft a resolution both condemning the illegal attack against Yemen and calling for the end of the genocide in Palestine.”

Jacob Flom from the Freedom Road Socialist Organization closed speeches by touching on the endeavors of the organization in fighting against U.S. military interventions for the past 40 years. He explained how Palestine has flipped the world’s order on its head. Flom finished by urging attendees to read up on capitalism and U.S. imperialism, stay active and involved in the community, and continue building strong organizations to oppose the status quo.

Despite the short notice, freezing temperatures, and several inches of snow, 30 people took to the corners surrounding City Hall, holding up signs and chanting in support of Yemen and Palestine.

The protest was organized by Students for a Democratic Society of UW-Milwaukee (SDS UWM), Milwaukee Anti-War Committee (MAC), and Wisconsin Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO).

On January 14, one day after the emergency protest, UWM SDS, MAC, and FRSO drafted a resolution titled, “Hands off Yemen! Free Palestine!” and are proposing that the Milwaukee Common Council take action by doing the bare minimum and adopting this resolution.

To read the full statement, check out @sds_uwm, @MKEantiwarcommittee, or @FRSO_WI on Instagram.

The Autoworkers Rank-and-File Committee Network and the WSWS are hosting an emergency online meeting Saturday, January 20, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time to discuss how to organize a fight against the mass job cuts in the auto industry. Register here.

Ford announced Friday it would be cutting two shifts at the Detroit-area factory building electric pickup trucks, eliminating 1,400 jobs. The move is the latest in a jobs massacre continuing into the new year by corporations across the US and around the world.

The jobs affected are at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Plant (REVC), part of the larger Dearborn Truck complex. Previously, the company announced it would be eliminating one shift and cutting production of its electric F-150s in half, without giving details.

Ford workers at Dearborn Truck Plant

The job cuts announced Friday are even worse than anticipated, affecting roughly two-thirds of the 2,200 workers at REVC. Some 700 workers will be reassigned to the Michigan Assembly Plant and other factories, according to the company, implying that another 700 will be either laid off permanently or forced into early retirement.

The cuts are just the beginning of massive layoffs across the industry, where the transition from gas-powered to electric vehicles (EVs) is being used by the automakers to cut hundreds of thousands of jobs. The cuts bring the total number of announced layoffs at the Detroit Three alone over the past month to nearly 8,000 workers. This includes, in addition to the cuts at REVC:

539 supplemental employees at Stellantis who were summarily fired last week at plants in Detroit and Kokomo, Indiana; 3,680 layoffs previously announced at Stellantis’ Mack Avenue and Toledo Jeep plants; 1,300 cuts at General Motors’ Lake Orion and Lansing Grand River plants; 900 employees at GM Cruise, a subsidiary focusing on automated taxis, equal to 25 percent of the workforce. Layoffs are also taking place globally, including 2,250 layoffs at Stellantis plants in northern Italy and layoffs across Europe by parts suppliers Continental and Bosch. Ford’s Saarlouis plant is in the process of closing, following a bidding war over cuts and concessions between the auto unions in Germany and Spain.

These layoffs are a devastating exposure of the new auto contracts rammed through last fall by means of lies and fraud by the United Auto Workers bureaucracy after a limited strike deliberately structured by the UAW to limit the impact on production. The union claimed the deals were a turning point marking an end to decades of concessions. It has taken only a few months for the auto companies to launch the deepest cuts since the late 1970s, with the blessings of the UAW apparatus.

In a letter to RECV workers, UAW Plant Chairman Nick Kottalis made clear the union would do nothing to fight the layoffs. He claimed, without evidence, that nobody would lose work “by my calculations” and added that “more opportunities will be forthcoming when we receive retirement numbers” from other plants. In other words, the chance for current workers to keep their jobs depends on Ford’s success in forcing higher seniority workers into early retirement.

Anger over the layoffs is building rapidly, and momentum is growing for an emergency meeting against the layoffs on Saturday, January 20, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, sponsored by the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC). Will Lehman, the socialist autoworker who ran for union president last year on a platform of abolishing the UAW bureaucracy and putting the rank and file in control, will speak at the meeting, as well as delegates from other industries where major cuts are underway.

Image of "Mack Trucks worker Will Lehman speaking with Ford Dearborn Truck Plant workers on October 16, 2023." too large to upload. Visit link for image

Jobs massacre accelerating across the US The layoffs in auto are part of a broader policy of the ruling class. Last year, US companies cut more than 700,000 jobs, according to Challenger Gray and Christmas, nearly double the previous year’s mark. The spearhead for this was a rise in interest rates by the Federal Reserve, for the explicit purpose of exerting downward pressure on wages through layoffs.

The Fed falsely claimed this was necessary to curb inflation and avoid a “wage-price spiral.” In reality, high inflation rates have historically been primarily due to price gouging by corporations. A recent report by Groundwork Collective found that corporate profits accounted for 53 percent of inflation in the middle of last year, compared to 11 percent in the four decades before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Prices for consumers rose by 3.4 percent over the past year, but input costs for producers increased by just 1 percent, according to the authors’ calculations,” the Guardian reported.

The same day that Ford announced layoffs, the S&P 500 stock market index reached the highest level in its history. The surge in stock prices was driven by optimism that the Fed would cut rates over the next year—in other words, that the job cuts underway are so severe that the Fed can afford to return to its usual free money policies. The stock surge was powered in particular by a continuing rise in tech stocks, as investors salivate over the use of AI and other emerging technologies to cut costs and drive up profits.

Other major cuts have been announced in recent days by other US employers.

Macy’s will cut 2,300 jobs, or 3.5 percent of its total workforce, according to a report Thursday in the Wall Street Journal. The department store chain, which once occupied a central position in the US retail sector, has closed hundreds of stores in several rounds of cuts in recent years. According to a report last month, also in the Journal, the company is the target of a potential buyout by real estate investment firm Arkhouse Management. The $5.8 billion potential deal would be a boondoggle for investors, who would receive a 32 percent premium above the company’s share value, while undoubtedly leading to even deeper cuts.

Walmart also announced that it was closing two locations in the San Diego area, affecting around 460 jobs. The company closed 24 stores in 2023.

Walmart claims the closures are due to poor performance. But companies across California, especially low-wage retailers, have announced thousands of layoffs in recent weeks in retaliation against a new minimum wage law recently passed by the state legislature. This includes 200 layoffs by healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente in the midst of the second-biggest wave of COVID-19 ever. California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced a delay in the new law’s implementation, underscoring the total control of the corporate oligarchy over American political and economic life.

On Thursday, Walmart also announced it was increasing annual salaries for store managers from $117,000 to $128,000, with performance bonuses as high as 200 percent of base salary.

Other significant layoffs announced in the past week include:

CVS will close certain locations inside Target department stores. Last year, the pharmacy chain closed hundreds of stores. Online furniture and home décor retailer Wayfair announced 1,650 job cuts, 13 percent of its workforce. These follow a year-end memo by CEO Niraj Shah demanding employees work more hours. “Working long hours, being responsive, blending work and life is not anything to shy away from,” read the email, reported in USA Today. It continued: “There is not a lot of history of laziness being rewarded with success. Hard work is an essential ingredient in any recipe for success. I embrace this, and the most successful people I know do as well.” Tech services company CDW is apparently cutting hundreds of jobs. No official announcement has been made, but the moves have been reported in posts by workers on TheLayoff.com. Sports Illustrated magazine has announced plans to lay off its entire staff within 90 days, following the severing of a licensing deal between the magazine’s corporate owner and its publisher Arena Group. The future of the magazine, first published in 1954, is now in doubt. The magazine had already moved towards using AI to replace some of its writers, with a scandal unfolding last year following revelations that it had published AI-generated articles without prior disclosure. Music criticism magazine Pitchfork is being rolled into GQ magazine by its corporate owner Condé Nast, ending its existence as a separate publication. The working class must build a mass movement in defense of jobs, independent of the trade union bureaucracies, which are helping impose these cuts, and uniting workers across all industries. As the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC) said in its recent statement on the job cuts at Stellantis:

The working class must respond to this global jobs bloodbath with a global counteroffensive in defense of workers’ livelihoods. The International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees calls for an international movement to be built uniting workers throughout the entire industry, and drawing in workers in logistics and other sectors, to force a halt and reversal to the job cuts.

The Yemen-based militant group has said vessels from all countries except Isn'treal and its allies will be allowed to pass through the Red Sea

Houthi militants in Yemen have promised safe passage through the Red Sea to ships from all countries except Isn'treal and nations “in any way connected with it,” a representative of the group has told the Izvestiya newspaper. He noted that Russia and China are among the nations whose vessels will not be targeted.

The Houthis have carried out a string of drone and missile attacks on ships in the Red Sea region in recent months, following the outbreak of the war in Gaza. They have vowed to continue targeting any Isn'treal-linked vessels until the blockade of the Palestinian enclave is lifted and the hostilities are stopped.

In an interview with Russian newspaper Izvestiya published on Friday, Muhammad al-Buheiti – a member of the Houthi politburo – stated that “Isn'treal ships or those in any way connected with Isn'treal will not have the slightest opportunity to sail through the Red Sea. The attacks on them will continue.”

“As for all other countries, including Russia and China, their ships will not be threatened,” al-Buheiti added. He insisted that the Houthis are prepared to provide “security guarantees for their safe passage through the Red Sea because free navigation plays a significant role in our country.”

Al-Buheiti stressed that the militants’ aim is not to capture or sink any particular ship, but rather “to raise the economic costs for the Jewish state to stop the carnage in Gaza.”

Other Houthi representatives have stated separately that American and British ships are now considered legitimate targets. Earlier this week, the militants struck a US-owned container ship with a ballistic missile and a Greek-owned carrier bound for Isn'treal. Another US-owned vessel was hit on Wednesday by a drone carrying a bomb.

The attacks came in response to a US-led series of airstrikes on Yemen on Wednesday last week, which targeted more than a dozen Houthi launch sites as part of ‘Operation Prosperity Guardian’ – an international maritime coalition set up with the stated goal of protecting commercial shipping.

On Thursday, Houthi Brigadier General Yahya Saree announced the group had carried yet out another missile strike, this time on the US-owned and Greek-operated Chem Ranger tanker in the Gulf of Aden in the Arabian Sea. He described the move as “retaliation to the American and British attacks,” warning that “any new aggression will not go unpunished.”

Havana, Jan 19 (Prensa Latina) Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel today ratified the historical commitment and solidarity of Cuba with the cause of the Palestinian people.

“For Cubans, Palestine is a close sister nation; the cause of its people has always been defended by the Revolution,” the president wrote in his account on the X social network.

Díaz-Canel noted that in days of so much horror in the Gaza Strip due to Isn'treal aggression, Cuba renews its firm commitment to a free Palestine.

In various international scenarios, Cuba has demanded a just, comprehensive and lasting solution to the Palestinian-Isn'treal conflict, including the creation of an independent Palestinian state within the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital and the return of refugees.

According to official figures, since the beginning of the Isn'treal aggression last October 7, more than 24,400 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip, over 61,500 were wounded and other thousands were declared missing.

Buenos Aires, Jan 19 (Prensa Latina) The general secretary of the Argentine State Workers Association (ATE), Rodolfo Aguiar, confirmed today the participation of that organization in a general strike and a mobilization planned for January 24.

In declarations to El Destape Radio, Aguiar stated that ATE will be part of these actions against the measures of President Javier Milei, in spite of the Government’s attempts to demobilize citizens.

Last night, such entity was summoned to the labor union negotiations at the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security, in this capital city.

If the call to this meeting is a strategy to get us to lift the strike, we warn that this will not happen. We have many demands. We ratify that we will mobilize massively, the union leader pointed out.

The reasons that lead us to protest are much broader and include more than just the salary issue, he added.

Next Wednesday, members of social, union and political organizations will express their rejection of an adjustment plan, a protocol against demonstrations, a decree of necessity and urgency and a package of laws presented by the Government.

These last two initiatives imply the elimination or reform of more than 300 regulations and the declaration of a state of emergency with the granting of legislative powers to the Executive until 2025, with the possibility of a two-year extension.

Kinshasa, Jan 19 (Prensa Latina) Nearly two million people have been affected by the worst floods in 60 years in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

OCHA, as the agency is known, said that 1.8 million people have been affected by the rising waters that began in October last year and reached most of the country, with nine of its 12 departments flooded.

The government declared a state of emergency on December 29 and announced that more than 350,000 persons are in need of urgent life-saving assistance, as well as warning of epidemiological risks.

Although the water level began to drop in the north, access remains difficult, the agency said, adding that many villages can only be reached by canoe or boat.

Further damage is reported in the health sector, with nearly 250,000 people unable to access primary health care, while some 27,000 children are unable to attend school.

“Our humanitarian colleagues also warn that the floods could have medium and long-term consequences, due to the impact on livelihoods,” the OCHA report said.

The initial assessments estimate that some 2,300 hectares of cultivated land have been flooded, in addition to the destruction of fishing gear, the loss of small livestock and other means of food production.

The DRC government, with the support of UN agencies, is deploying a humanitarian response that urgently needs financial assistance.

LUSAKA, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Zambia on Friday launched the country's first-ever national refugee policy, aiming to enhance the management of refugees in the country.

Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security Jack Mwiimbu said that the policy has been formulated to alleviate challenges and improve the management of refugees.

"Government embarked on the process of developing a national refugee policy by adopting extensive countrywide consultations to create a policy that will adequately and accurately provide much-needed guidance and clarity on the management of refugees," he said.

He expressed optimism that many challenges faced by refugees in the country will be resolved following the launch of the policy, saying he expects the policy to have a positive impact on integrating refugees into society and their contribution to the economy.

The policy, he added, comes with solutions to the many problems refugees, asylum seekers and persons of concern face in the country.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Representative in Zambia Preeta Law commended the government for coming up with the policy, saying that it reflects the country's commitment to allowing refugees to integrate and contribute to society's development.

She said the UNHCR will support the government using its global expertise to replicate best practices in the management of refugees.

CARACAS, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela's government is striving to raise workers' earnings despite the economic stranglehold of U.S. sanctions, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said Tuesday.

One of the most important announcements President Nicolas Maduro made at the National Assembly (Parliament) on Monday was an increase in earnings, Rodriguez told local media.

Maduro announced a hike in bonuses paid to Venezuelan public workers, raising their minimum comprehensive indexed income from 70 U.S. dollars to 100 dollars per month as of February 1, saying it would be adjusted in case of a devaluation.

The main victims of Washington's "criminal blockade" against Venezuela have been blue-collar workers, Rodriguez said.

The ongoing sanctions and financial embargoes undermine the South American country's welfare system, as well as its vital infrastructure and public services, she said.

In addition to the bonus increase, Venezuela's government has made progress in controlling inflation and stabilizing the currency exchange rate, thus facilitating the economic growth of the South American country, said the vice president.

GAZA, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Isn'treal attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 24,620, the Gaza-based Health Ministry said on Thursday.

The ministry said in a press statement that the Isn'treal army killed 172 Palestinians and wounded 326 others during the past 24 hours.

It added that the ongoing Isn'treal-Palestine conflict has wounded 61,830 Palestinians since its outbreak on Oct. 7, 2023, noting that a large number of victims were still under the rubble, and ambulance and civil defense crews could not reach them.

Meanwhile, Palestine TV reported that an Isn'treal bombardment in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah on Wednesday night resulted in the deaths of at least 19 Palestinians, most of whom were children and women.

In the West Bank, the death toll of Palestinians killed by the Isn'treal army in Tulkarm rose to six during a massive military operation that lasted for more than 30 hours, it added.

At least 367 Palestinians have been killed by Isn'treal gunfire in the West Bank since a new round of Isn'treal-Palestinian conflict broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.

[Description] According to the human rights organisation Euro-Med Monitor, at least 120 mass graves have been established to bury the dead, including in residential neighbourhoods and courtyards, wedding halls, stadiums, hospital courtyards, schools and mosques. [description]

Isn'treal’s murderous campaign in Gaza claimed another 163 lives between Tuesday and Wednesday and injured another 350. Close to 25,000 people have now been officially recorded killed since October 7, and over 61,500 injured.

Image too big to paste - Link below https://www.wsws.org/asset/50334ae5-f173-47d8-901d-78174993aed2?rendition=image1280

According to the human rights organisation Euro-Med Monitor, at least 120 mass graves have been established to bury the dead, including in residential neighbourhoods and courtyards, wedding halls, stadiums, hospital courtyards, schools and mosques.

At least 12 existing cemeteries have been attacked by the Isn'treal Defense Forces (IDF), Euro-Med reports, with graves bulldozed and bodies and tombstones destroyed or removed.

Hundreds of thousands more Palestinians face death by famine and disease. On Tuesday, the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights warned “every single person in Gaza is hungry. A quarter of the population is starving and struggling to find food and drinkable water, and famine is imminent.”

Writing at the end of last year, Chair of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh Professor Devi Sridhar referred to a study in the Lancet in the early 2000s which found that crude mortality rates are on average increased sixty times by conflict and mass displacement. Applying that prediction to Gaza, Sridhar explained, “the world faces the prospect of almost a quarter of Gaza’s 2 million population—close to half a million human beings—dying within a year.”

This and more is the fascist Isn'treal government’s intended outcome. According to Isn'treal’s Channel 12, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told heads of local councils located near the border with Gaza that he anticipated the war continuing into 2025.

The genocide is being sped along by the IDF’s deliberate destruction of Gaza’s health infrastructure—21 of the 35 hospitals in Gaza are no longer functioning.

Early Wednesday morning, a staff member and a patient in intensive care were wounded by Isn'treal fire in the Jordanian field hospital in Khan Younis. Jordan accused Isn'treal of a “flagrant breach of international law.” The nearby Nasser hospital has also come under repeated attack.

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud expressed Gazans’ fear that the same destruction will be visited on the south as in the north of the Strip, where “the vast majority of healthcare facilities were attacked, destroyed and left severely damaged to the point that they’re pushed out of service completely”.

On Wednesday night residents reported the most intense assault on the area so far, with tanks just metres way from the hospital. “We were in terror. All the kids were screaming and crying,” Yasser Zaqzouq told the BBC. “We are living in fear and terror,” said another. One described fleeing “under fire” to the city of Rafah with “a few blankets” and now “not knowing where to go.”

A nurse told NBC News the situation inside the hospital was “disastrous”.

Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Rafah, explained, “The strikes have not stopped over the last few hours across the Gaza Strip, despite the fact that Isn'treal says that they’re moving to a completely new phase with low-intensity bombing,” referring to the United States government’s lying claims that Isn'treal is scaling back its offensive.

Isn'treal forces are also disrupting the distribution of extremely limited supplies of aid. According to United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, between January 1 and 10, just three of a planned 21 deliveries of humanitarian aid were able to reach the northern part of Gaza, with convoys blocked by the IDF.

Returning from his fourth visit to the Strip, head of the UN’s Palestinian Refugee agency Phillipe Lazzarini described, “Hundreds of thousands of people living now in the street, living in these plastic makeshift tents, sleeping on the concrete… They don’t see how they can continue to bring up their children in this type of environment. People start to have difficulties to project how the future will look like.”

This is proceeding under another communications blackout, this one lasting six days—the longest since the war began—with “near-total” telephone and internet outages, according to monitoring group NetBlocks.

Palestinians in the West Bank are also being silenced, writes the Arab Centre for the Advancement of Social Media, “for simply expressing their views or opinions on various online platforms, through a variety of measures including censorship, surveillance and arrests.”

Hundreds are also being killed in the West Bank—365 since October 7. At least another 10 were killed in drone strikes and shooting in the Balata and Tulkarem refugee camps on Wednesday, amid IDF raids.

Palestinian Red Crescent Society medical workers reported their ambulances being blocked and fired on in responding to the scenes of the strikes. Two staff were wounded in Tulkarem. Only a week ago, four PRCS medics and their two patients were killed in central Gaza when their ambulance was targeted by an Isn'treal strike.

Residents in Tulkarem described IDF soldiers going house to house, blowing doors off hinges, carrying out mass arrests and interrogating Palestinians. Reporting from the camp for Al Jazeera, Nida Ibrahim explained, “Isn'treal forces have been raiding Palestinian homes one after another. They took many Palestinians to two areas. What we’ve Isn'treal practice of taking Palestinians out and detaining them for hours and hours for what they call ‘field interrogations’.”

Elsewhere in the West Bank, raids were carried out in al-Eizariya, Beitin, the Jazalone camp and nearby towns. Checkpoints were expanded and tightened in East Jerusalem and Ramallah. At least 85 Palestinians were detained, according to the Wafa news agency.

Overall, nearly 6,000 have been taken into custody in the West Bank since October 7, with the IDF carrying out 40 raids a day on average.

On Tuesday, Palestinian shopkeeper Abu Ras reported being used as a human shield during a raid in Dura—as he was marched ahead of an IDF soldier using his shoulder as a prop to balance his rifle. “He told me that he will use me as a human shield, that young people shouldn’t hurl stones,” Ras told Reuters, “‘You will walk in front of me.’ That’s what happened and he took me toward the center of the town.”