RAMALLAH, Palestine

The Israeli army imposed a curfew late Thursday on the Palestinian town of Deir Istiya in the occupied West Bank.

Bilal Mansour, an anti-settlement activist, told Anadolu that Israeli forces stormed the town, sealed its entrances and announced the curfew through loudspeakers.

He said the troops blocked the town’s main access points, patrolled its streets and ordered shopkeepers to close their businesses. They also restricted the movement of residents.

Soldiers also searched vehicles and pedestrians, claiming that stones had been thrown at settler vehicles near the town, Mansour added.

Palestinian villages in the West Bank frequently experience Israeli military raids, which often include home searches. In some cases, homes are temporarily converted into military outposts after residents are forced to vacate.

Over the past few years, the Israeli military has conducted regular raids in the West Bank, which have escalated with the beginning of the war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. Palestinians have also been violently attacked by illegal Israeli settlers.

At least 822 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 6,500 injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

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

*Writing by Mohammad Sio