RAMALLAH, Palestine/ISTANBUL

Israeli security forces detained on Thursday as many as 24 Palestinians, including a child and an official, in the occupied West Bank, witnesses and officials said.

Witnesses told Anadolu that the Israeli army arrested nine people in two northern towns of Tulkarem, two in Nablus, three in eastern Qalqilya, and five others in Jenin.

Two Palestinians were also detained in the city of Bethlehem, and two others, including a child, from Hebron.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority’s Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said its director Murad Ashtiwi was also taken into Israeli custody. He was released after brief investigation.

Israeli forces also demolished the house of a Palestinian in Ramallah, central West Bank, citing the lack of a building permit, the chairman of the Al-Mughayir village council, Amin Abu Alia, told Anadolu.

Abu Alia said 70 more houses are facing the risk of demolition under orders issued by Israel.

Israel widely uses the pretext of a lack of construction permits to demolish Palestinian homes, especially in Area C in the occupied West Bank.

Under the 1995 Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, was divided into three portions – Area A, B, and C.

Area C is under Israel’s administrative and security control until a final status agreement is reached with the Palestinians.

Assaults

The Israeli army also injured at least 10 Palestinians in different parts of West Bank on Wednesday evening, according to medics and local sources.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said in a statement that one person was injured by live fire in Qalandiya, north of East Jerusalem, while another was wounded in the town of Al-Ram.

State news agency Wafa said the Israeli forces fired tear gas at homes near a separation wall in Qalandiya, causing many residents to suffer from inhalation.

The PRCS said in another statement that four people were injured by Israeli gunfire during a raid on the northern city of Nablus. A 15-year-old was wounded by shrapnel.

According to Wafa, the number of injured civilians rose to eight in Nablus, including three children.

The army also fired stun grenades and tear gas canisters at civilians in the city center.

A young man was arrested, and his vehicle was seized by the army before their withdrawal from the city, the agency added.

Witnesses told Anadolu that the Israeli raids targeted a number of public buildings, including the Nablus Fire Department headquarters, where several Palestinians were detained and subjected to field investigation.

Activists posted on social media pictures of vandalized buildings.

Local authorities say that more than a thousand Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, around 10,300 wounded, and over 20,000 arrested, including 1,600 children, since the Gaza war in October 2023.

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.