Here’s what’s been happening in the occupied West Bank
- Israeli forces have arrested two young men, Ahmed Saif Faqha and Fares Ayman Najjar, from the town of Anabta, east of Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank, at dawn today, after raiding their homes.
- An Israeli special forces unit also stormed al-Makhfiyeh neighbourhood in Nablus at dawn, followed by a large force that raided a house in the area and opened fire inside, wounding Palestinian resident Ihab Abu Rayala in the leg before detaining him, according to Wafa. Forces detained another resident in the neighbourhood after raiding and searching his home, and damaged a parked vehicle nearby.
- Israeli forces early today closed the entrances to several towns and villages east of the city of Ramallah, Wafa reported, quoting local sources, banning residents’ movement in and out of these areas.
Israeli soldiers raid home of freed prisoner in occupied West Bank
Soldiers have stormed the home of former prisoner Yousef Abdel Halim Daoud in the village of Deir Ghassana in the northwest of Ramallah.
Local sources told the Wafa news agency that the soldiers searched Daoud’s home and ransacked his family’s belongings. During the raid, they fired sound grenades and tear gas around the villages of Deir Ghassana and Beit Rima, with no injuries reported, according to Wafa.
Daoud was deported to Egypt as part of the recent Israeli captive-Palestinian prisoner exchange deal. He had been sentenced to imprisonment for life and spent 22 years in Israeli prisons.
Israeli settlers assault Palestinians across the occupied West Bank
Wafa news agency, quoting the Palestine Red Crescent, reports that a 24-year-old man was taken to hospital in Nablus after being beaten by Israeli settlers on his land outside the town of Sebastia.
Elsewhere, in Silwad, north of Ramallah, the Palestinian Ministry of Health says five people were injured to varying degrees after being assaulted by settlers.
Olive pickers assualted by Israeli settlers in West Bank’s Aqraba, Farkha
Israeli settlers attacked olive pickers in the towns of Aqraba, south of Nablus, and Farkha, south of Salfit in the occupied West Bank, according to local sources.
Mustafa Hammad, head of the Farkha village council, told the Wafa news agency that a farmer had been picking olives with his wife and son when he was attacked and severely beaten by settlers. The farmer was later transferred to Salfit Governmental Hospital for treatment.
Hammad explained that settlers had forced the farmer’s family off their land last week and returned this week.
At the same time, in Aqraba, settlers targeted farmers looking after their olive fields and forced them off their lands, local sources told Wafa.
Israeli forces severely beat young man in occupied West Bank’s al-Khader town
Israeli forces have severely beaten a young man after detaining him in al-Khader town, south of Bethlehem, according to the Wafa news agency.
Israeli forces also set up a military checkpoint at the eastern entrance to al-Khader, stopped and searched vehicles, and checked Palestinian IDs, causing traffic congestion.
