RAMALLAH, Palestine/ISTANBUL

Israeli forces on Wednesday stormed several Palestinian cities in the West Bank, demolished homes in the south, and carried out mass arrests as part of a widening campaign of raids in the occupied territory. 

Witnesses said undercover units entered al-Bireh town near Ramallah before reinforcements arrived with armored vehicles in the al-Masyoun neighborhood. 

In Nablus, troops pushed into the eastern districts, deploying in the Musallakh area and the Balata refugee camp. 

In the Hebron province, local council head Mohammed Ribee said Israeli bulldozers leveled houses and caves in the village of Khirbet Khillet al-Daba, and destroyed tents, water pipes, sanitation units, and solar power cells. 

He noted that the operation wiped out the remaining shelters of families previously displaced in a May demolition that targeted 25 homes and farm structures. 

The Palestinian Prisoner Society said the Israeli army has arrested 120 Palestinians since the start of the week, including women, children, and former detainees. 

It added that nearly 19,000 Palestinians have been detained in the West Bank since the Gaza war began in October 2023, describing the arrests as a systematic policy of collective punishment often accompanied by beatings, field interrogations, and home destruction. 

Palestinian officials warn that the intensifying raids, demolitions, and land seizures are part of Israel’s strategy to accelerate settlement expansion and move toward annexing the West Bank, a step they say would permanently eliminate the prospect of a two-state solution. 

Since October 2023, at least 1,042 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the West Bank by Israeli forces and illegal settlers, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
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.