Israeli army withdraws from West Bank town Qabatiya, leaving infrastructure, homes destroyed

By Qais Abu Samra and Ahmed Asmar

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) — The Israeli army withdrew early Tuesday from Qabatiya, a town near Jenin city in the northern occupied West Bank, leaving homes and shops destroyed and infrastructure damaged in their wake.

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that the army forces completely evacuated Qabatiya after arresting several people and destroying shops and infrastructure.

The Qabatiya municipality reported that the Israeli army destroyed wastewater, electricity, water, and communication networks before leaving town.

On Sunday, the Israeli army imposed a 48-hour curfew in Qabatiya, during which its bulldozers destroyed the town's infrastructure, as well as public and private property.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army raided several neighborhoods in Nablus, storming Palestinian homes and arresting a number of people.

The Israeli army has been conducting military operations in the northern West Bank since last month, killing at least 60 people and displacing thousands.

The raids were the latest in Israel’s ongoing military escalation in the West Bank, where at least 923 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 7,000 injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers since the start of the Israeli onslaught against the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The International Court of Justice declared in July that Israel’s longstanding occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal, demanding the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.