Israeli forces detained dozens of individuals across several occupied West Bank areas, including the vicinity of Bethlehem, following the killing of a Palestinian youth by Israeli security forces on Wednesday night, according to reports from the Palestinian news agency Wafa. The military action targeted towns north of Tulkarem, specifically Attil and Deir al-Ghusun, deploying numerous military vehicles at dawn on Thursday.
One of the primary targets of the raids was the home of Qusay Halaika, the individual shot and killed near the Al-Anfaq checkpoint between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, where two of his brothers were reportedly arrested. Israeli authorities cited an attempted stabbing attack as justification for the shooting, while witnesses suggested Halaika was left bleeding on the ground after being shot multiple times.
These operations occur amid a sharp rise in military crackdowns across the West Bank, which have reached their highest levels in decades since October 2023, according to observers. The intensification of Israeli military activity runs parallel to an increase in actions by Israeli settlers, whose expansion of settlements is deemed illegal under international law.
Separately, Israeli settlers reportedly stormed Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus, a site holy to Christians, prompting the deployment of Israeli troops to secure the area. Reports indicated that members of the Knesset and prominent settler leaders were present during the incursion into the burial ground which lasted until early Thursday morning.
In the Hebron area, Israeli forces seized a five-storey residential building from the Rajbi family, forcing residents to evacuate their property. Furthermore, in Nablus, the head of the Sebastia municipality reported that Israeli forces demolished a Palestinian-owned factory during their operations in the area.
The Tulkarem governorate, encompassing the Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps, has faced near-continuous Israeli military operations for over 368 days, Wafa noted. Detentions in Attil on Thursday included a young man previously wounded by Israeli gunfire last December near the Tulkarem refugee camp.
The broader geopolitical context involves sustained international concern regarding settler violence, which the United Nations has characterized as reaching unprecedented levels against Palestinians and their property. The current escalations suggest continued friction over territorial control and security arrangements in the occupied territories.
