Israel raids towns, detains dozens of Palestinians in occupied West Bank

The military operations targeted several northern cities and towns, including Nablus, Jenin, Tubas and Qalqilya. In Nablus, Israeli forces carried out arrests and raided Palestinian homes in the villages of Jalud and Qaryut. Arrests were also reported in Arrabeh and Burqin, near Jenin.

In the southern occupied West Bank, Israeli bulldozers demolished a three-storey building in Hebron, with families given just five minutes to collect their belongings. Israeli forces also ordered hundreds of Palestinian families to forcibly evacuate their homes in the Ein Deir Bahha area of Hebron and its surroundings.

Military Operations Expand

Israeli troops surrounded the home of one of the suspects in the shooting attack that killed two Israeli soldiers in Hebron, while carrying out raids in the city's al-Jalda neighbourhood. The Israeli army stated that its forces began an operation in Hebron that would last 'for several days', in addition to operations by other forces in 'dozens' of areas across the West Bank.

Further east, Israeli forces entered Jericho and the nearby Aqabat Jabr refugee camp. With the lockdown, nearly 1,000 checkpoints and gates across the West Bank will be closed, affecting millions of Palestinians.

Political Response

Netanyahu gave the lockdown order on Friday, shortly after the Israeli military reported killing two Palestinian gunmen who attacked a reserve battalion near the Israeli settlement of Telem, where two soldiers died. Israel's ambulance service reported that at least three additional Israeli soldiers were injured in the attack.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responded by calling for Israel to take full control of the West Bank, where the government is encouraging settlement construction. Mustafa Barghouti criticized incitement from far-right Israeli ministers, stating it is making the situation worse. All Israeli settlements, including Telem, are illegal under international law.