Palestinians clash with Israeli forces amid widespread raids across West Bank

By Awad Rajoob

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - Widespread clashes broke out late Tuesday between Palestinians and Israeli forces during military raids on several West Bank towns.

Witnesses reported confrontations in eastern Nablus and the Al-Masaken neighborhood, where Palestinians burned tires and threw stones at advancing Israeli troops.

Soldiers responded with tear gas, stun grenades and live fire, though no injuries were immediately reported. Similar unrest occurred in the town of Beita, south of Nablus, and in Qalqilya.

In the southern West Bank, Israeli forces detained a Palestinian woman during a raid on Hebron’s Old City near the Ibrahimi Mosque. According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, the woman was taken from her home in the Jaber neighborhood during the operation.

In the central West Bank, clashes erupted in the village of Al Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah, where Israeli forces used live fire and tear gas during their raid. In the northern town of Ya’bad near Jenin, Israeli troops entered the streets, sparking further confrontations.

Local sources reported multiple home invasions but no significant injuries or additional arrests apart from the incident in Hebron.

Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, years of regular Israeli military raids in the West Bank have escalated. Palestinians have also been violently attacked by illegal Israeli settlers.

At least 803 Palestinians have since been killed and more than 6,450 others injured by the Israeli army in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

The escalation follows a landmark opinion in July by the International Court of Justice declaring Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land “illegal” and demanding the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio