Jericho remains under siege by Israeli forces for 6th straight day

By Awad Rjoob and Halime Afra Aksoy

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - The Israeli army’s blockade of the occupied West Bank city of Jericho continued for a sixth consecutive day Thursday.

The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported the detention of 10 Palestinians since Wednesday at temporary checkpoints set up by the army at all main entrances to the city.

Israeli forces stopped vehicles passing through the checkpoints one by one and performed identity checks and searches of Palestinians, according to eyewitnesses.

Long queues of vehicles formed at the entrances of the city due to the searches.

Residents of Jericho, who have been under siege since the second day of Eid al-Fitr, a religious festival marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, have suffered significant economic hardships due to the blockade.

Jericho, which normally hosts over half a million tourists during holidays, has received only 200,000 visitors during the Muslim religious festival due to the blockade.

Israeli forces first imposed the siege on Jericho last Saturday.

Meanwhile, Jewish settlers in the Al-Agvar region to the north of the West Bank attacked Palestinians and their properties, Wafa reported.

At least four Palestinians suffered bruises all over their bodies.

Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors Israeli settlement activities in the north of the West Bank, said dozens of Jewish settlers attacked Palestinian farmers and their properties.

Israeli forces stepped up enforcement activities at a checkpoint in the Palestinian town of Huwara to the south of Nablus, causing long queues of vehicles, he said.

Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank in recent months amid repeated Israeli raids into Palestinian towns.

According to Palestinian figures, more than 100 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the start of this year. Sixteen Israelis have also been killed in separate attacks during the same period.