ISTANBUL

The Israeli army encircled the Ramallah and Birzeit areas in the West Bank on Sunday evening following an alleged car attack in the occupied territory, the army said.

A military statement said that soldiers were dispatched to the Maayan Ateret area following reports of a suspected ramming attack that lightly injured an illegal settler.

Troops established roadblocks, encircled Ramallah and Birzeit, and began searches for the suspect, the statement added.

“The circumstances of the incident are under review,” the army said, without providing further details.

Tensions have been running high in the West Bank since the Israeli war on Gaza in October 2023.

Israeli forces and illegal settlers have killed at least 1,105 Palestinians in the occupied territory, injured nearly 11,000, and detained around 21,000 since October 2023, according to Palestinian figures.

In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.