Israeli army wounds 2 Palestinians in West Bank raids

By Aysar Alais

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) — Two Palestinians were wounded late Thursday in Israeli army raids in the occupied West Bank.

One of the wounded was a girl in the town of Husan, west of Bethlehem, with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society reporting that the girl suffered an abdominal injury due to Israeli gunfire and was transported to the hospital for treatment.

Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli forces entered the town, closing its main entrance, which triggered confrontations with local young people.

The Israeli soldiers used live gunfire and tear gas to disperse the crowds, the eyewitnesses added.

Meanwhile, in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, Israeli forces, accompanied by bulldozers, entered the eastern area of the city and the Balata refugee camp.

A Palestinian man was injured during the raid, according to the Red Crescent

Armed clashes took place between Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters within the camp, according to witnesses.

In the city of Qalqilya, Israeli forces also conducted a raid on the town of Kafr Qaddum, east of the city, using tear gas near civilian homes. No injuries were reported.

Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank as Israel pressed ahead with its brutal onslaught on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 40,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7 last year.

At least 691 people have since been killed and more than 5,700 injured by Israeli fire in the West Bank, according to the Health Ministry.

The escalation followed a landmark opinion by the International Court of Justice on July 19 that declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio