12 arrested in West Bank operation, violent clashes reported in Ramallah, Jenin
No Israeli or Palestinian casualties reported; IDF seizes vehicles used for ‘domestic terrorism’; operation follows arrests of Jewish settlers trying to establish new outputs
Israeli security forces arrested 12 Palestinian suspects throughout the West Bank overnight Thursday, with violent confrontations reported in some areas.
As part of the arrest operation, Israeli troops entered the towns of Huwara, Salem, Bir Zayt, Al-Yamun and Einabus among others to arrest individuals suspected of involvement in terrorist activity, the Israeli military said.
Palestinian rioters confronted Israeli forces operating in Jenin and Ramallah, throwing Molotov cocktails and hurling rocks toward them.
Israeli forces responded by opening fire on the assailants.
In the village of Al-Mughayyir in the northern West Bank Israeli troops seized illegal weapons. Two suspects who assaulted the troops during the operation were arrested.
In the nearby village of Deir Abu Mash’al, troops arrested two suspects and confiscated a vehicle “used for domestic terrorism,” the military said.
No Israeli or Palestinian casualties were reported in the operation.
Overall, 12 suspects were arrested and taken in for questioning.
Tensions in the West Bank have risen in recent days as thousands of right-wing Israeli activists flocked Wednesday to various sites across the West Bank in an effort to establish six new illegal outposts in the territory.
Organized by the radical settler organization Nachala, the initiative is believed to have drawn some 10,000 individuals, although this figure could not be independently verified.
Five ultra-nationalist activists were arrested late Wednesday and early Thursday.
On Sunday, Israeli troops clashed with Palestinian gunmen during an early morning raid in the northern West Bank city of Tubas. It came following a brief pause in arrest operations in the West Bank, amid US President Joe Biden’s two-day trip to the region. The US president departed from the country on Friday.
It was thought the IDF wished to avoid any major confrontation during the visit.
Tensions have remained high, as Israeli security forces stepped up operations in the West Bank following a deadly wave of terror attacks against Israelis that left 19 people dead earlier this year.
Emanuel Fabian and Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.
