WEST BANK, (PIC)
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) and extremist settler groups intensified their raids and violations in different areas of the West Bank on Wednesday, amid arrests in some areas.
In Bethlehem Governorate, settlers, under the protection of Israeli forces, stormed the Solomon’s Pools area located between al-Khader town and Artas village, where they rallied between the second and third pools, amid a complete military closure of the area.
Israeli forces reportedly set up a military checkpoint in the area and blocked the movement of Palestinian vehicles.
Similar raids happened near Jannatah town and Mount Harasa in Beit Sahour to the east in Bethlehem.
In the same context, Israeli forces stormed Husan village west of Bethlehem, where they spread in several areas, raided, searched, and photographed the homes of some ex-detainees, without making arrests.
According to the head of the Husan village council, Rami Hamamra, the IOF continued for the second day running to impose tight military measures around the village by closing main and secondary entrances, which negatively affected the daily lives of residents.
Israeli forces also closed the only remaining entrance of al-Jab’a village southwest of Bethlehem, the road linking it to Nahalin town, after the main entrance had already been closed since October 2023.
Acting head of the village council Hanan Masha’ila said that this Israeli closure of the village’s entrances prevents them from reaching their workplaces and obtaining their basic needs, amid surging settler attacks on homes and cars.
In Jerusalem, Israeli police forces tightened security measures and closed a number of main streets in the holy city, which obstructed Palestinian citizens’ movement. They also detained Islamic Awqaf employee Ra’ed Zaghir while he was heading for his workplace near the Bab al-Majlis area outside the Aqsa Mosque.
In the northern West Bank, the Israeli army tightened military measures at the entrances of several towns in Jenin province, including Arraba, Ajja, Jaba, and the area around the illegal Tarsala settlement, by deploying military vehicles and infantry units, under the pretext of securing a settler march between Jenin and Nablus.
Meanwhile, a group of settlers stormed the site of the evacuated Kadim settlement near the eastern neighborhood of Jenin, under the protection of Israeli forces, in a step that falls within active settlement activities in the area.
In Nablus, Israeli forces stormed the city, gathered in Sufyan Street in the central district, and kidnaped a young man after ransacking his home. Several members of his family had been arrested in recent days.
In Jenin, Israeli forces kidnaped a young man from Fandaqumiya town south of the city after raiding and searching his home, amid raids in other areas of the governorate.
In another context, the Israeli occupation authority extended the administrative detention of writer and political analyst Sari Arabi for an additional four months, with no trial or indictment.