ISRAELI forces have intensified demolitions in the occupied West Bank and face growing accusations of pursuing a coordinated campaign to erase Palestinian presence and Islamic heritage across the territories.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military destroyed homes and residential buildings in Ramallah and Al-Khalil (Hebron) governorates.
Hamas responded with a statement on Wednesday, denouncing the demolitions as part of a broader plan to forcibly Judaise the land and accelerate annexation efforts.
The group linked called the demolitions a ‘fascist policy’ and a violation of international law.
Simultaneously, senior Hamas official Haroun Nasser Al-Din issued a warning about what he described as a dangerous push to seize full control of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem.
He pointed to rising settler demands to open the site entirely during the upcoming ‘Flag March’ in May, a move he said reflects a deliberate campaign to erase Islamic presence and impose Jewish rituals on the site.
Nasser Al-Din accused Israeli forces and extremist settlers – backed by far-right Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir – of systematically desecrating the mosque and using the ‘Temple Mount’ movement as a political tool for colonial expansion.
‘The aim is clear,’ he said. ‘They want to destroy Al-Aqsa Mosque and erect their temple on its ruins.’
He also highlighted apartheid-like restrictions on West Bank Palestinians who are barred from accessing Al-Aqsa, while settler groups face no such limitations.
He urged mass mobilisation to resist what he called an escalating campaign of religious provocation and ethnic cleansing.
Both Hamas and Nasser Al-Din called on the international community to intervene, warning that Israel’s actions amount to a coordinated plan of aggression and dispossession across all occupied territories.
