IDF arrests 14 Palestinian suspects, seizes guns in overnight West Bank raids
M16 rifles and a pistol found during arrest operation in Jenin area; military says explosives hurled and gunfire directed at troops, but none hurt
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Israeli troops operated extensively throughout the West Bank in the predawn hours of Wednesday, arresting 14 wanted Palestinians and seizing several firearms, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The IDF said that troops seized three M16 rifles, a handgun, ammunition, and other military equipment in the Palestinian village of Burqin, west of Jenin, and arrested two suspects.
In the adjacent Jenin refugee camp, another Palestinian suspected of terror activities was arrested, the IDF said.
During the raid in the two northern West Bank towns, “Molotov cocktails and explosives were thrown, and the troops shot at suspects who shot at them,” the IDF said.
Unverified Palestinian reports said two people were hurt by IDF fire in the Jenin area. There was no immediate comment from the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry.
The IDF said no soldiers were hurt during the raids.
#شاهد| انفجار عبوة محلية الصنع "كوع" في احد جنود الاحتلال خلال اقتحامهم مخيم جنين الليلة الماضية pic.twitter.com/A1QBH6Hh5P
— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) August 24, 2022
Footage published by Palestinian media outlets showed an improvised bomb exploding near a soldier in the Jenin refugee camp.
Another video said to be from the town of al-Aroub, near Hebron, showed a soldier falling over after being hit by a stone thrown by Palestinians.
Troops also operated in the Ramallah area, arresting five wanted Palestinians in al-Bira, the Jalazone refugee camp, and in Qatanna on the outskirts of Jerusalem.
#شاهد سقوط أحد جنود جيش الاحتلال خلال مواجهات باقتحام مخيم العروب شمال #الخليل. pic.twitter.com/fpJQOvkTTe
— Newpress | نيو برس (@NewpressPs) August 24, 2022
In Nablus, Molotov cocktails were hurled at troops as they arrested two wanted Palestinians, the IDF said. And in the al-‘Azza refugee camp near Bethlehem, troops opened fire at Palestinians who hurled cinderblocks at the soldiers, the IDF said.
The 14 suspects were taken to be questioned by the Shin Bet security agency.
Israeli security forces have stepped up their operations in the West Bank following a deadly wave of terror attacks that left 19 people dead between mid-March and the beginning of May.
Many of the raids have concentrated on the unstable Jenin area, from where several of the attackers hailed.
