On Tuesday evening, a young Palestinian man and an elderly woman were injured, and two young men were arrested during Israeli army raids and settler attacks in various areas of the West Bank, according to government media and eyewitnesses.
The official Palestinian news agency, WAFA, reported that a young man was injured and another arrested during an Israeli army raid on the town of Zeita, north of Tulkarm, in the northern West Bank. The agency explained that "occupation forces stormed the town, raided a number of homes, searched them, vandalized their contents, and subjected their residents to interrogation."
She added that "the occupation soldiers severely beat the young man, Sharar Abu al-Ezz, causing him injuries and bruises, while they arrested the young man, Muhammad al-Tayeh." She noted that the soldiers seized a house in the town and transformed it "into a military barracks and observation post, and detained a number of young men, while simultaneously launching a drone into the airspace."
Also in the northern West Bank, WAFA reported that an Israeli force "arrested a citizen, bulldozed agricultural land, closed three side roads, and destroyed the contents of an agricultural room in the town of Deir Ballut, west of Salfit." It also noted a raid on the town of Azzun, east of Qalqilya, "without any reported raids or arrests."
WAFA reported that clashes broke out between Palestinians and the Israeli army during a raid on the town of Birzeit, north of Ramallah, "without any reported injuries or arrests."
From the southern West Bank, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society announced that its crews transferred to the hospital "an elderly woman (60 years old) who sustained bruises as a result of an attack by settlers in the Masafer Yatta area (south of Hebron)" without providing further details.
Eyewitnesses said that the occupation forces stormed the town of Dura, south of Hebron, without reporting any arrests or injuries. They also stormed the town of Beit Ummar, north of the city.
On Tuesday morning, the Ministry of Health announced the martyrdom of Mahmoud Faisal Al-Kharaz (32 years old) by the bullets of the occupation forces in Nablus, while 9 citizens were injured by the bullets of the occupation forces, after the occupation army stormed the city and raided the Gulf Exchange at Zawata Roundabout, and the Ashqar Gold and Jewelry shops in the commercial market, and seized their contents amidst gunfire and toxic gas bombs.
In a related development, Palestinian sources reported that Israeli forces stormed the eastern part of Nablus and the Balata refugee camp in the northern West Bank city early Wednesday.
Palestinians demand protection from settlers
Israeli settlers launched attacks targeting Palestinians in various areas of the occupied West Bank on Tuesday evening, while citizens appealed for protection.
Eyewitnesses said that settlers attacked the village of Al-Lubban Al-Sharqiya, south of the city of Nablus (north), and closed the main street adjacent to the town, and threw stones at Palestinian vehicles, while the occupation forces closed the main Ramallah-Nablus road, which passes through the village.
In the central West Bank, settlers set fire to agricultural land in the village of Al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah, according to the agency, which added that "occupation forces stormed the area after the fire to provide protection for the settlers and prevented citizens from approaching." According to WAFA, settlers regularly attack the village, burning and vandalizing Palestinian land and property, especially after they recently established a colonial outpost in the area.
In the northern West Bank, the Israeli army distributed stop-work notices on homes and facilities north of the town of Bruqin, west of the city of Salfit, according to the agency. The agency explained that "the occupation forces delivered eight stop-work and stop-work notices to inhabited homes, in addition to a barn (livestock pen)."
In the southern West Bank, eyewitnesses said that settlers attacked a shepherd from the village of Al-Minya, southeast of Bethlehem, and attempted to seize his sheep before Palestinian citizens arrived to rescue him.
In the city of Hebron, Issa Amro, a human rights activist who monitors Israeli violations, told Anadolu Agency that "journalist and activist Muhannad Qafisha was severely beaten by occupation soldiers in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood in central Hebron." Thirteen journalists were injured in separate attacks by settlers and the Israeli army in the West Bank earlier Tuesday.
Residents of the Palestinian community of Khallet al-Dabaa in the southern West Bank appealed to the world and human rights and humanitarian organizations, demanding protection from the Israeli army and settlers, following the tightening of the noose around them and the increasing attacks aimed at forcing them to flee.
On May 5, the Israeli army demolished 25 homes, agricultural facilities, and water wells in this community, claiming they were built without permits.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Cabinet, in a statement at the end of its weekly session, warned of "the danger and repercussions of the Israeli occupation's escalation of its aggression against our people, whether in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, including Jerusalem." It pointed to "the continued attacks on population centers, the extremists' desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Old City of Jerusalem, the escalation of the occupation's incursions into cities, villages, and camps, and the escalation of settler attacks."
Approval of the construction of 22 secret settlements
The Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Tuesday that the security cabinet secretly approved the construction of 22 new settlements on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank.
The newspaper reported that the cabinet "secretly approved (without specifying a date) the establishment of 22 new settlements in Judea and Samaria (the Jewish name for the West Bank)." It noted that the decision includes the re-establishment of the "Homesh" and "Sanur" settlements, which were previously dismantled as part of the "disengagement" plan from the Gaza Strip. The newspaper continued: "The proposal was approved at the initiative of Defense Minister Yisrael Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich."
For its part, the Palestinian presidency said on Tuesday that the Israeli government's approval of the construction of 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank is a "dangerous escalation that will drag the region into a cycle of violence and instability."
Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said, "The occupation government's secret approval of the establishment of 22 new settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, constitutes a dangerous escalation and a challenge to international legitimacy and international law." He explained that the Israeli escalation is "an attempt to continue dragging the region into a cycle of violence and instability," reminding that "all settlement activity is illegal."
In parallel with the annihilation of Gaza, the Israeli army and settlers escalated their attacks in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, resulting in the deaths of at least 970 Palestinians, the injury of nearly 7,000, and the arrest of more than 17,000, according to Palestinian data.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with full American support, has been waging a genocidal war in Gaza, leaving approximately 177,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, more than 11,000 missing, and hundreds of thousands displaced.
