Clashes erupted early Tuesday between Palestinians and Israeli occupation forces during raids across several cities and towns in the West Bank. The forces conducted arrests and detonated the home of a prisoner who carried out an operation against settlers months earlier.
The fresh Israeli incursion operations included the provinces of Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarm, Jericho, Hebron, Bethlehem, and occupied Jerusalem.
Al Jazeera’s correspondent reported confrontations in the town of Aqraba, south of Nablus in the northern West Bank, between Palestinian youths and Israeli forces.
قوات الاحتلال تفجر منزلاً في بلدة عقربا جنوبي نابلس في الضفة الغربية#حرب_غزة #فيديو pic.twitter.com/omQdYyFAs3
— الجزيرة فلسطين (@AJA_Palestine) December 18, 2023
The correspondent said that the forces demolished the family house of prisoner Osama Bani Fadl in Aqraba. Fadl was the executor of the Hawara operation, which resulted in the killing of two settlers in August.
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that 14 Palestinians suffered from suffocation during the confrontations in Aqraba, while activists stated that the Israeli forces carried out a widespread arrest campaign in the town and conducted field investigations with the detainees.
In the town of Ya’bad, southwest of Jenin, confrontations erupted following an Israeli forces raid and house searches, according to Palestinian sources.
In the northern West Bank, the raids included the village of Kafr al-Labad east of Tulkarm, and activists reported confrontations with the occupation forces in the town of Anabta in the same governorate.
Journalistic coverage: Clashes erupt between youths and occupation forces during the ongoing raid on the town of Aqraba southeast of Nablus.
تغطية صحفية: اندلاع مواجـهـات بين الشبان وقـوات الاحـتـلال خلال الاقـتـحـام المستمر لبلدة عقربا جنوب شرق نابلس. pic.twitter.com/agYJNolIea
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) December 18, 2023
Live Fire
In Hebron, in the southern West Bank, Al Jazeera’s correspondent reported skirmishes between youths and occupation forces in the towns of Bani Naim and Surif, with soldiers firing live bullets at the youths.
The Israeli forces set up military checkpoints in the towns and searched civilian vehicles and checked the identities of the owners. They also raided the Fawwar refugee camp south of Hebron and the town of Beit Ummar to the north of the city.
Additionally, Al Jazeera’s correspondent reported that the Israeli army raided the city of Jericho in the eastern West Bank from several axes and simultaneously invaded the town of Anata northeast of occupied Jerusalem.
Local sources reported that the occupation forces raided the villages of Walaja and Za’atara in Bethlehem and confiscated Palestinian vehicles.
What happened in Ishaa’s prayer today at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron.
🔴 ما حدث في صلاة العشاء اليوم #الحرم_الإبراهيمي في #الخليل #IsraelisTheREALTerrorist pic.twitter.com/hnrWVxJhgs
— شبكة أخبار الخليل (@khaleel4news) December 18, 2023
Settlers’ Assaults
Separately, Palestinian worshipers were injured last night, Monday, suffering from suffocation and burns inside the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron after they were attacked by settlers with pepper spray.
The settlers stormed the mosque under the protection of Israeli occupation forces, and the Palestinian news agency reported that the attack coincided with Ishaa prayer.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said its crews dealt with two cases of pepper spray injuries in the Ibrahimi Mosque and transferred them to the hospital.
Activists shared a video on social media showing worshipers coughing and affected by the gas, with some lying on the ground. A speaker in the video said that the settlers sprayed the gas on the worshipers.
