The Palestinian resistance, including Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), have called on their supporters to increase attacks against Israel, especially in the occupied territories of the West Bank.

Deputy Chairman of Hamas, Saleh al-Arouri, and the Secretary-General of the PIJ, Ziyad al-Nakhala, made the call to arms during a meeting in Beirut on Saturday, 17 December.

The Palestinian resistance has stepped up its attacks against the Israeli occupation in recent months, overstretching the armed forces in the West Bank. The recent call for an increase in attacks comes in light of the Israeli elections and crackdowns by the Israeli military.

Israeli forces arrested several members of the Palestinian Fatah movement and at least six officials in the Gaza-based resistance group Hamas in the most recent raid on 14 December in the occupied West Bank.

Among those arrested is Rizq Rajoub, a former prisoner and Hamas official residing in the West Bank, who is the brother of Fatah member Jibril Rajoub.

Palestinian reports indicated that the Israeli police arrested 18 individuals in the West Bank and transferred them to detention facilities for interrogation.

In a statement, Hamas stressed the importance of “confronting Zionist schemes that aim to undermine the resistance and liquidate the Palestinian cause.”

Abu Obeida, the spokesman for Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, also stated that his group would likely aim to kidnap Israeli soldiers in the near future.

“The [Israeli] enemy will regret its intransigence regarding a new prisoner-exchange deal,” he said, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar added that the resistance “will close the file of the four enemy prisoners forever and find another way to liberate our prisoners” should Israel fail to comply with a prisoner swap.

Meanwhile, despite pushback from the international and Palestinian communities, Israeli authorities ratified plans to construct hundreds of new settler units in the occupied central West Bank.

At the end of last month, Israel announced that they are seeking to confiscate 616,000 square meters of West Bank land from Palestinians, violating international law. All Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories are deemed illegal.