As Israel marks the third anniversary of the October 7 attack, tensions remain high across the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have carried out operations targeting Palestinian memorials and other sites associated with Palestinians killed or accused of attacks against Israelis.
The Israeli military said it destroyed what it described as “monuments to terrorists” in several parts of the West Bank. An army spokesperson told AFP that the operations were aimed at removing memorials, although the military did not explicitly state that the actions were directly connected to the anniversary of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
In the northern West Bank, Israeli troops removed a stone memorial and commemorative posters in and around Jenin. Hala Abu Baker, a spokesperson for the Jenin governorate, told AFP that a memorial dedicated to Yasser Hamdouni was destroyed in the town of Yaabad, while photographs commemorating other Palestinians were removed from several locations in Jenin.
Hamdouni had been accused by Israel of killing an Israeli settler in 2003. He later died in Israeli prison in 2016 while serving a life sentence.
For many Palestinians, people killed by Israeli forces or who die in Israeli prisons are remembered as martyrs. Memorial stones, posters and photographs dedicated to them are common across Palestinian towns and villages, reflecting a deeply emotional and contested part of the region’s history.
Israeli authorities, however, frequently view such memorials as symbols that glorify attacks against Israelis. Israeli politicians have repeatedly criticized their presence, although the destruction of these monuments by military forces is considered relatively unusual, particularly in parts of the West Bank that are formally under Palestinian Authority administration.
Israeli forces also carried out an operation in Nablus, where five memorials were reportedly destroyed in different parts of the city. Deputy Mayor Iyad Bakeer told AFP that scores of residents were also arrested during the military operation.
The developments came alongside another major demolition in Beit Duqqu, northwest of Jerusalem. Israeli forces demolished the home of a Palestinian man accused of killing an Israeli settler the previous month, according to the town’s mayor and an AFP journalist who witnessed the aftermath.
Beit Duqqu Mayor Nazmi Mansour said Israeli forces entered the town at around 4:00 am and distributed leaflets announcing the planned demolition of the home belonging to detainee Qadri Samara.
An AFP journalist at the scene reported seeing an Israeli military bulldozer clearing debris from the destroyed house while Israeli forces maintained a heavy presence in the area.
Israel has routinely demolished the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out attacks. Israeli authorities argue that such demolitions are intended to deter future attacks. Human rights organizations, however, have long criticized the policy, arguing that demolishing family homes can amount to collective punishment against relatives who were not involved in the alleged attacks.
The latest operations come as violence across the West Bank continues to intensify following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack and the subsequent Gaza war.
According to an AFP tally based on figures from the Palestinian health ministry, Israeli forces and settlers have killed 1,113 Palestinians in the West Bank since the beginning of the Gaza war.
Israeli figures cited by AFP indicate that at least 49 Israelis, including civilians and security personnel, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations in the territory over the same period.
The destruction of memorials highlights how deeply contested public spaces, remembrance and narratives of loss remain in the West Bank. For Palestinian communities, these memorials often represent people they consider victims or martyrs. For Israeli authorities, some of the same symbols are viewed as glorifying violence.
As the third anniversary of October 7 is marked, the events in Jenin, Nablus and Beit Duqqu underline that the conflict’s impact extends far beyond the battlefield, reaching homes, communities and even the physical places where people remember those who have died.
The figures and accounts cited above are based on reporting by AFP and statements from Israeli military and Palestinian local officials. The competing descriptions of the memorials and military operations reflect the deeply contested nature of the conflict and its continuing human cost.
