Security forces arrest 10 terror suspects in overnight West Bank raids
IDF says forces seized illegal weapons, thousands of shekels intended for terrorist activity; IDF says Palestinian hit by Israeli fire in clashes, but Ramallah says no injuries
Security forces arrested 10 people suspected of involvement in terror activities during overnight raids across the West Bank, the Israel Defense Forces said Thursday.
Forces from the IDF, the Shin Bet internal security service and Border Police arrested three terror suspects in the Jalazoun Refugee Camp near Ramallah, where the military said troops encountered a “violent riot” that included stone-throwing at Israeli forces.
Soldiers used riot dispersal means, including the firing of a Ruger rifle, and said they had hit a Palestinian. Ruger bullets are considered less lethal than the larger caliber rounds typically used by the IDF. But human rights groups have condemned the use of Ruger fire for riot control, as the weapon can still kill.
The military did not provide further details on the condition of the person injured, and the official Palestinian Wafa news agency said there were no injuries in the clash.
The IDF and Border Police also confiscated numerous illegal weapons, including an M-16, in the West Bank village of Silwad, the army said.
In addition, forces arrested three terror suspects in the Palestinian villages of Yamun, Burqin and Yabad near the city of Jenin, the army said.
The IDF additionally arrested two terror suspects in Al Doha, near Bethlehem, where it also reported “violent disorder.” The IDF said protesters threw fireworks and rocks, and troops responded with dispersal measures.
In Surif, near Hebron, the IDF said it confiscated thousands of shekels suspected of being intended for use to fund terror activities.
In Qarawat Bani Zeid, near Ramallah, security forces arrested two suspects and seized illegal weapons.
The IDF said there were no injuries to Israeli forces.
Tensions have remained high in the West Bank, as Israeli security forces stepped up arrest raids and operations following a deadly wave of terror attacks against Israelis that left 19 people dead earlier this year.
Earlier this week, two Palestinian gunmen were killed in an Israeli military raid in the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
A Border Police spokesman said in a statement Sunday that the elite Yamam counterterrorism unit, along with Israel Defense Forces soldiers, clashed for a number of hours with Palestinians who opened fire and hurled explosive devices from the home of a wanted man in Nablus’s old city. No arrests were made.
