Israeli forces carried out a series of large-scale raids and arrests across the occupied West Bank overnight on Sunday and throughout Monday, amid continued Israeli violence in the Palestinian territory.
Israeli military troops raided the Qalandia refugee camp , north of occupied Jerusalem, early Monday, forcing themselves into Palestinian homes, evicting around 13 families and converting the seized buildings into detention and interrogation centres.
Witnesses told local media that Israeli forces carried out a widespread arrest campaign targeting released prisoners and relatives of Palestinian prisoners, while informing residents that the military operation could last for 24 hours.
At least 11 residents were held for extended periods of time and interrogated , among them Jihad Manasra, Mahmoud Ezzat, Ahmed Mutair, and Jamal Ammar, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Club.
Clashes erupted in some areas, resulting in injuries following the use of tear gas, as the Israeli army raided the towns of Kafr Aqab and al-Ram , near Jerusalem, where they arrested the recently released prisoners Majd and Ahmed Abu Gharbiya.
The incursion forced schools to delay the start of classes until it became clear whether the raids would continue.
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities issued home demolition notices for dozens of homes, shops and businesses in the same camp and towns, the Palestinian Wafa agency reported.
The Jerusalem Governorate received notices saying that infrastructure that was built without official permission will be demolished - a frequent pretext used by Israel to justify its levelling of homes and businesses in the occupied West Bank. Elsewhere in the West Bank Israeli forces also stormed the city of Nablus and its Old City with several military jeeps and deployed throughout the city's streets. The military sent forces to Ras al-Ain and Makhfiya neighbourhoods, before advancing into the Old City, according to local sources.
No injuries or arrests were reported yet.
In the Hebron Governorate, Deir Samet’s deputy mayor, Atef Awawdeh, was arrested after his home was raided. Three children, aged 16 and 17, were also detained in the town of Beit Ummar.
In the Bethlehem governorate, four people from different areas were arrested, including one who had previously been wounded by Israeli gunfire. Meanwhile, in the Jenin Governorate, Israeli forces raided the village of Arqa and the town of Ya'bad, searching residents' homes.
Israeli soldiers raided the town of Sarda, north of Ramallah, where they set up a checkpoint on the town's main road, stopping and searching vehicles, according to Wafa . Settler attacks On Sunday, illegal Israeli settlers reportedly uprooted approximately 200 olive trees in the plain of Turmus Ayya , northeast of Ramallah, and in another incident, settlers attacked Palestinian vehicles near the settlement of Shilo, under the protection of the Israeli military.
Settlers attacked Palestinian vehicles at the entrance to the town of Deir Dibwan, east of Ramallah, and pelted other vehicles with stones north of al-Bireh, damaging the windows of several cars. The Israeli army stepped up its violence in the West Bank since the start of the Israeli and US assault on Iran on 28 February.
The occupied Palestinian territory was already witnessing an uptick in Israeli military and settler violence in parallel with the war in Gaza, which intensified with raids, arrest campaigns, and killings .
Settlers have also carried out violent and often deadly attacks on Palestinians, while vandalising and stealing their properties and belongings.
Since October 2023, Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 1,154 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, and have arrested nearly 22,000, according to official Palestinian statistics.