Israeli forces have launched numerous new raids in the occupied West Bank as conflicts persist between the Palestinian Authority and armed groups in Jenin.
At least 18 Palestinians were arrested by Israeli forces during a series of raids between Monday evening and Tuesday morning, the Israeli army said. The Palestinian Prisoners Society said those arrested included one injured person.
The Israeli raids took place in the governorates of Nablus, Hebron, Tubas, Tulkarem, Qalqilya, Bethlehem, Salfit and Ramallah.
As with many daily incursions into the Palestinian territories, the raids were accompanied by extensive searches, house demolitions and detentions without charge.
A young Palestinian was killed at dawn on Tuesday by Israeli bullets during an assault on the Tulkarem refugee camp, according to the Wafa news agency. He cited witnesses saying the man was shot by Israeli snipers, who then prevented ambulances from reaching him by shooting at them. Israel said the person was killed during “face-to-face combat” with troops.
A large force of soldiers and armored vehicles, accompanied by two heavy bulldozers, reportedly stormed the town of Tulkarem from its western axis and headed towards the camp as drones flew at low altitude.
Israeli military bulldozers demolished infrastructure in various neighborhoods of the camp, affecting the water network and causing power outages and internet interruptions.
Palestinian fighters said they took part in armed clashes with Israeli forces in Tulkarem, with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades coalition of armed groups saying the fighters used automatic weapons and explosive devices.
In a raid in Nablus, at least three Palestinians were injured and one was arrested after soldiers attacked the town and the Balata camp at dawn.
Israeli forces reportedly surrounded a house in the al-Tirawi neighborhood inside Balata camp and arrested a young Palestinian as they spread to several other neighborhoods.
There was also another major incursion into the town of Hizma, north of occupied Jerusalem, after a Palestinian was shot dead at a military checkpoint the day before for allegedly trying to attack soldiers with knives.
Local sources cited by the Wafa agency indicated that Israeli bulldozers had demolished a resident’s house as well as another house under construction. They also felled olive trees with their bulldozers during the raid.
Airstrikes have been rarer in the West Bank than daily attacks in Gaza, but Israel is increasingly relying on them there, too. An Israeli drone strike on Tubas on December 9 killed at least two people.
Israeli settlers have also been supported by soldiers in near-daily attacks on Palestinian farmers in the illegally occupied territories.
According to the latest United Nations figures, 736 Palestinians were killed in the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem, between the start of the war on Gaza and October 31.
Ongoing clashes in Jenin
Meanwhile, as Israeli raids continue, Palestinian Authority security forces have been confronting armed Palestinian fighters in Jenin for about 10 days.
Sources told Tel Aviv Tribune Arabic that clashes also broke out on Tuesday in southern Tubas governorate in the occupied West Bank. The fighting broke out after Palestinian Authority security forces confiscated equipment from a house in the town of Tammun.
The Israeli army has stayed away from incursions into Jenin, despite calls from regional settlement leaders to intervene directly.
Palestinian Authority forces continued their efforts to take full control of the city, considered a stronghold of armed resistance factions.
Several civilians, Palestinian Authority soldiers and armed fighters have been killed since the start of Operation Protect the Homeland, including the commander of the Jenin Brigades, Yazid Ja’ayseh.
The fighting has focused Palestinian criticism of the Palestinian Authority, with the umbrella group of the Popular Resistance Committees accusing the organization of acting “in accordance with the Zionist agenda.”
Last week, the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) reported that its health center in Jenin had been overrun by armed actors and was no longer under its control. All UNRWA services, including education and humanitarian aid, are currently suspended in the camp.
According to the UN, eight Palestinians were killed in the occupied West Bank between December 9 and 15.
Among them, five were killed by Israeli forces and three by the Palestinian Authority. During this period, an estimated 158 Palestinians were detained by Israeli forces, and 14 Palestinians by the Palestinian Authority.
