According to Al Jazeera’s correspondent, Israeli occupation forces shot at a car in the southern West Bank east of Hebron. Reports from Palestinian media indicate that the driver, a young Palestinian, was subsequently arrested after the shooting incident. Concurrently, the occupation forces continued their raids in several towns on Friday night.
In a separate incident, Israeli forces invaded the Balata refugee camp east of Nablus in northern West Bank. Sniper teams were deployed on buildings overlooking the camp, leading to armed clashes with Palestinian resistance fighters. The “Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades – The Youths of Revenge and Liberation” stated that their fighters in the camp confronted the invading forces with gunfire and targeted them with explosives.
Additionally, Israeli forces carried out incursions in the towns of Qusra, Rogeib, and Burqa, and conducted patrols in several neighborhoods while besieging some residences. Forces also raided the village of Baqa al-Hatab east of Qalqilya, searching and tampering with several houses. Reports reveal that the Israeli army conducted arrest campaigns and incursions in various cities and camps across the West Bank, resulting in intensified confrontations since the outbreak of the “Battle of the Al-Aqsa Tempest” on October 7, 2023.
Furthermore, the Israeli army executed a raid and arrest campaign in the city of Tubas in the north of the West Bank, leading to confrontations between citizens and Israeli forces, involving live ammunition and sound grenades. Similar incursions were reported in the city of Jenin, where several houses were raided.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners Club and the Palestinian Prisoners Affairs Commission, at least 25 Palestinians were arrested in the past hours, including a woman, an injured individual, and children. The organizations released a joint statement confirming that the number of arrests since last October has risen to approximately 6,485 detainees.
The Israeli occupation has been intensifying incursions and arrests in the cities and camps of the West Bank as part of a wide-scale escalation following the launch of resistance operations during the “Al-Aqsa Tempest” on October 7, 2023.
Following the imposition of sanctions on settlers by the United States, Israeli Finance Minister Betsalel Smotrich called for the planning committee to approve a plan to build 7,000 settlement units in the West Bank. Settler attacks in various forms, including the construction of settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, have intensified during the war on Gaza. The Israeli occupation army provides protection to the settlers during their frequent attacks on Palestinians.
The Israeli peace movement estimates that over 700,000 settlers live in settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
