Israeli Forces Arrest 22 Palestinians in Raids Across West Bank and Jerusalem

Israeli forces carried out raids across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and arrested 22 Palestinians on allegations that they were wanted, according to the reports compiled by NewsCord. The raids included tear gas and stun grenades fired toward Palestinian homes. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said further clashes caused injuries and cases of suffocation, and residents reported field interrogations in which they were subjected to mistreatment.

In the Qalandiya refugee camp, just north of occupied East Jerusalem, an Israeli forces raid triggered clashes on Thursday. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said two children were wounded. Its teams treated a 15-year-old boy who had been shot with live ammunition in both legs and a 12-year-old child injured by live-bullet fragments, and both were taken to hospital. In the northern West Bank, the Palestinian Prisoners Media Office and local sources said Israeli forces detained 13 Palestinians, including three brothers, in raids before dawn on Thursday. TRT World reported that at least 13 Palestinians were arrested in raids across the occupied West Bank that day, and that paramedic and anti-settlement activist Bashar al-Qaryouti was also arrested.

In Hebron, Israeli forces continued raids and closures for a seventh consecutive day after two Israeli soldiers were killed in a gun attack. Both Palestinian suspects were also killed, according to the reports. Hebron Governor Khaled Dudin told Wafa that 537 families, comprising 3,361 people, had been forced from their homes. He said the offensive disrupted education for about 262,000 students across 589 schools in the governorate that week. Municipal figures put the total number affected, including those under siege, at about 5,000 people from 780 families. The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said Israeli forces detained 110 Palestinians in the governorate from Friday to Wednesday.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Israeli forces were still operating in Hebron, blocking access and imposing tight restrictions on movement across the governorate. It warned that they were “disrupting Palestinians’ access to livelihoods, education and healthcare.” OCHA added that “Most displaced families are staying with relatives,” and it called for the prevention of further forced displacements and demolitions. Caring for displaced neighbors and opening one’s home to them reflects the kind of practical mercy Christ describes (Matthew 25:35).

Israeli forces also demolished memorials to Palestinians in several parts of the Hebron governorate on Thursday, according to the reports. In Dura, soldiers fired a heavy barrage of tear gas before bulldozing a mural bearing images of several of the town’s dead. Al Jazeera’s Muntasir Nassar said the targeting of memorials “appears to be a new pattern recently adopted by Israeli forces across all West Bank governorates – though at a higher rate here in Hebron.”

In the northern West Bank, Israeli forces demolished three homes in the towns of Deir Ballut and Bruqin, west of Salfit. Jihad Yassin, mayor of Deir Ballut, said the number of stop-work, construction and demolition orders issued in the town in recent years had reached around 100. He added that the number of homes and structures demolished by Israeli forces in the town had exceeded 10. He also said the forces bulldozed water lines, citing construction without a permit.

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