WEST BANK, (PIC)
Different areas of the occupied West Bank witnessed last night and at dawn Sunday an Israeli escalation on the ground, marked by settler attacks and large‑scale raids and arrests carried out by Israeli forces, amid heightened security measures following a car‑ramming incident south of Bethlehem that injured an extremist settler.
According to local and media sources, a group of settlers stormed the Hamroush area east of Sa’ir town, north of al-Khalil, conducting provocative tours.
Meanwhile, settlers set fire to swaths of Palestinian land in the al‑Naqqar area northwest of al‑Mughayir village east of Ramallah, while Israeli forces prevented firefighting crews from reaching and extinguishing the blaze.
Israeli forces also stormed several towns and villages in the governorates of Jenin, Tubas, Tulkarem, Ramallah, al-Khalil, and Jerusalem, where they patrolled streets and raided homes.
In Jericho, the IOF reportedly kidnaped one young man during a raid in the city.
In al-Khalil, Israeli forces kidnaped political analyst Bilal al-Shobaki and his parents after assaulting him during a raid in the town of Beit Ummar, north of the city.
Two other citizens were taken prisoner during IOF raids in Jericho City and the town of al-Dawha in Bethlehem.
In eastern Ramallah, Israeli forces stormed the village of Kafr Malik, kidnaping three young men after ransacking their homes and stealing cellphones.
In Salfit, Israeli forces kidnaped two brothers from the family of Bakr from Qira village north of the city after ransacking their homes for over two hours.
In Tulkarem, the IOF kidnaped a citizen after raiding his home in Ilar town north of the city.
Israeli forces also raided Umm al‑Tut village east of Jenin, storming several homes and assaulting residents. They also raided Tayasir town in Tubas, searched homes, and launched a wide campaign of arrests and interrogations.
In a separate incident, a Palestinian driver hit and lightly hurt a Jewish settler who had been part of a group of extremist settlers that blocked a West Bank road Saturday night and hurled stones at Palestinian motorists.
Dozens of settlers reportedly gathered at the Efrat junction, south of Jerusalem, attacking and searching Palestinian cars, according to the Hebrew media.
One of those drivers panicked and hit a settler with his car, lightly injuring him, before fleeing the scene and subsequently being arrested by Israeli soldiers, according to the Israeli occupation army.
Footage of the incident showed a Palestinian car being accosted by a group of violent settlers, prompting the driver to accelerate and veer sharply in an attempt to escape the assailants.
In Bethlehem, a horde of settlers launched a stone-throwing attack on Palestinian vehicles near al‑Manshiya village.
Earlier on Saturday, extremist settlers attacked the town of Huwara south of Nablus and set fire to swaths of agricultural land, while the Red Crescent said that nine Palestinian citizens were injured in the attack.
Settlers also stormed the outskirts of Deir Jarir town northeast of Ramallah, sparking tension in the area.
In Bethlehem, Israeli soldiers and settlers assaulted two women identified as Suaad and Enaam Ghaneem from al‑Khader town while they were harvesting grape leaves in the “Qit‘at al‑Nis” area.
Local sources reported that soldiers and settlers beat them, tied their hands, blindfolded them, and then took them to an area near al‑Minya village southeast of Bethlehem before releasing them there.
This comes amid escalating assaults by Israeli forces and settlers against residents of al‑Khader, including preventing farmers from reaching their fields and groves, demolishing agricultural structures, and seizing large areas of land.
In Tubas, Israeli forces arrested a young man yesterday after raiding his home in Tammun town, southeast of the governorate.