Arrests, violent clashes during Israeli West Bank raids
The Israeli military has carried out raids in the occupied West Bank in recent hours, according to local media reports. They include:
- The city of Qalqilya has been stormed and two men have been arrested
- The city of Tubas has been stormed, with Palestinian groups targeting Israeli forces with explosive devices and bullets
- The village of Husan, west of Bethlehem, has been stormed
تغطية صحفية: تفجير عبوة في جيش الاحتلال خلال اقتحام مدينة طوباس pic.twitter.com/IIqtTsUPVk
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) October 18, 2024
UN warns against settler violence during olive harvest season
The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned “that Israeli settler violence in the context of the ongoing olive harvest season is threatening people’s safety and livelihoods”, UN Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq told a news conference.
Haq said OCHA has documented at least “32 attacks by Israeli settlers, during which 39 Palestinians harvesting olives were injured and about 600 trees and saplings were vandalised, sawed off, or stolen” since the start of October.
Decrying the deteriorating situation in northern Gaza, Haq said intense hostilities and Israel’s evacuation orders have led to a significant loss of access to critical water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities.
According to Haq, “water production from municipal wells is currently at zero” in areas such as Jabalia and Beit Lahiya.
Israeli soldiers intervene against Palestinian farmers who continue to harvest their olive trees despite Israeli attacks in the village of Qasra and foreign activists who support them in southeast of Nablus, West Bank on Tuesday
Israeli settlers steal sheep from Jurish village near Nablus
Israeli settlers have stolen a herd of sheep from the village of Jurish, southeast of Nablus, Wafa news agency is reporting. A group of settlers, protected by Israeli soldiers, attacked a young shepherd while he was with his sheep at the junction of Jurish village, according to the report.
Israeli forces detained the shepherd at the scene and the settlers stole the sheep and headed towards the nearby illegal Israeli Migdalim settlement, Wafa reported.
UN denounces Israel’s use of ‘war-like’ tactics in occupied West Bank
The UN humanitarian office has denounced Israel’s use of what it described as “war-like” tactics against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, saying nine Palestinians had been killed in a week.
“Israeli forces have been using lethal, war-like tactics in the West Bank, raising serious concerns over excessive use of force and deepening people’s humanitarian needs,” spokesperson Jens Laerke told reporters at a Geneva news briefing, saying nine people had been killed between October 8 and 14, including one child.
Laerke added that Israeli forces had accused most of those killed of being involved in attacking Israelis.
Since October 7, 2023, more than 750 people have been killed in the occupied West Bank with more than 6,250 injured, and at least 11,200 Palestinians imprisoned.
