Israeli army turns Palestinian homes into military barracks as occupiers set up new outpost in West Bank

Israel's army on Thursday turned four Palestinian homes into military barracks during a raid on the town of Tell, southwest of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank, while Israeli occupiers began setting up a new outpost on Palestinian land in Jenin.

Israeli forces raided Tell in the morning, seized four Palestinian homes, and converted them into military barracks, local sources told Anadolu.

The forces also raided the area between the towns of Tell and Surra, with no immediate reports of arrests or confrontations, the sources said.

The raid came days after Israeli occupiers attacked Tell, killing four Palestinians and two Israelis, and setting fire to Palestinian homes and property, amid accusations that the Israeli army provided protection to the attackers.

It also coincides with calls by Israeli occupiers to hold a march on Friday to the site where two Israelis were killed near the town.

Separately, the al-Baidar rights group said in a statement that Israeli occupiers began setting up a new illegal settlement outpost on Palestinian land in the village of Fuqu’a, northeast of Jenin, in the northern West Bank, on Thursday.

On Tuesday, Israeli occupiers set up another new outpost on land belonging to the town of Yasuf, east of Salfit in the northern West Bank.

Yasuf village council head Jumaa Abdel Fattah told Anadolu that Israeli occupiers installed a tent in the Al-Nasba area, northeast of the town, about 50 meters (164 feet) from Palestinian homes.

Illegal settlement outposts, which Israeli occupiers establish without official Israeli government authorization, often become the nucleus of settlements that are later legalized or connected to the infrastructure of existing settlements, according to Palestinian and Israeli groups monitoring settlement activity.

According to Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now, there are currently 141 settlements and 360 settlement outposts in the West Bank, in addition to 15 settlements in East Jerusalem.

UN Security Council Resolution 2334, issued in 2016, states that Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, have no legal validity and constitute a flagrant violation of international law.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice said in an advisory opinion that Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territories is unlawful and must end as soon as possible.

For weeks, the West Bank has seen an escalation in occupier attacks on Palestinians and their property, amid accusations by Palestinians and Israeli and international rights groups that the Israeli army protects occupiers and sometimes takes part in the attacks.

Since the start of the war on Gaza in October 2023, attacks by the Israeli army and occupiers have escalated across the West Bank, killing more than 1,182 Palestinians, injuring around 13,000, and leading to the arrest of nearly 24,000, according to official Palestinian figures.

According to the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, Israeli occupiers carried out 3,488 attacks against Palestinians and their property in the first half of 2026, including attacks on people, property, and land, the establishment of new illegal settlement outposts, and preventing farmers from accessing their land.

Palestinians warn that Israeli policies in the West Bank, including home demolitions and illegal settlement expansion, are paving the way for formal annexation, undermining the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state under relevant UN resolutions.