Qais Abu Samra
13 May 2026•Update: 13 May 2026
Israeli forces held dozens of Palestinians during a military raid in the West Bank on Wednesday, as occupiers escalated their attacks across the occupied territory, witnesses said.
Witnesses told Anadolu that Israeli forces stormed the town of Dura, south of Hebron, with several military vehicles, searched a number of homes, and vandalized their contents.
According to witnesses, Israeli forces held more than 22 people, including a lawyer, and questioned them for hours inside homes they turned into temporary detention centers before later releasing them.
During their withdrawal, Israeli forces fired stun grenades and tear gas at residents, causing several people to suffer temporary asphyxiation, the witnesses added.
Videos circulating online showed Israeli forces raiding homes and turning one into a detention site. Another video showed detainees being released after interrogation.
Israeli forces also raided two schools in the town of Sila al-Dhahr in the northern West Bank and removed the Palestinian flag from one of them, local sources said.
Witnesses told Anadolu that Israeli soldiers on foot entered the boys’ primary school in Sila al-Dhahr, south of Jenin, and took down the Palestinian flag from its pole.
Another Israeli force entered the town’s secondary school before later withdrawing.
A video circulating on social media showed several soldiers entering the school gate and climbing to its upper floors.
No arrests or injuries were reported.
Last week, an Israeli occupier raided the town’s primary school and chased students inside while brandishing a weapon, an incident activists documented on video.
Israeli army forces also raided the town of Aqaba, north of Tubas in the northern West Bank, and detained 11 Palestinians, local sources said.
The sources said several military vehicles stormed the town as soldiers raided and searched several Palestinian homes, and ransacked their contents.
Meanwhile, a group of Israeli occupiers raided the outskirts of Sinjil, north of Ramallah, attacked Palestinian property and stole a flock of sheep, agricultural tractors and vehicles, witnesses said.
According to witnesses, Israeli forces protected the occupiers during the attack, prevented Palestinians from confronting them and fired tear gas and stun grenades toward residents.
The attacks came amid rising occupier attacks in the West Bank, including assaults on Palestinian villages, arson attacks on property, and land seizures.
The occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has seen an escalation in Israeli military operations, including raids, arrests, shootings and excessive use of force, alongside rising occupier attacks on Palestinians and their property.
Since October 2023, attacks by the Israeli army and occupiers have killed 1,155 Palestinians, wounded about 11,750 and led to the arrest of nearly 22,000, according to official Palestinian figures.
*Writing by Lina Altawell in Istanbul
