The ongoing violence in the West Bank has seen a sharp increase in both the number of arrests and confrontations, adding to the continued instability in the region.[GETTY]
The Israeli army stormed the town of Qabatiya in Jenin, the northern occupied West Bank amid armed clashes with Palestinians on Thursday morning.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s (PIJ)Â Al-Quds Brigades confirmed engaging in heavy fighting with Israeli forces, targeting army positions and sniper nests across the town.
The Qabatiya Battalion said in a statement that its fighters were “engaged in fierce battles with the enemy forces storming the town and are showering them with hail of bullets”.
Israeli forces conducted a series of raids at dawn, arresting four Palestinians from the Nur Shams refugee camp and the Dhannaba neighbourhood east of Tulkarm.
According to Palestinian news agency Wafa, a Palestinian man was shot in the town of Turmus Aya, north of Ramallah. Israeli soldiers seized a house in the town and opened fire on the young man from al-Mughayyir town inside his vehicle wounding him.
Two young men were also detained during a raid in Beitunia, west of Ramallah and Kafr Malif, in the east.
According to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) and the Palestinian Ministry of Detainees, at least 15 people were arrested between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning alone.
The detainees included a student, a child, and several former prisoners. The raids spanned several districts of the West Bank, including Qalqilya, Ramallah, Hebron, Nablus, Bethlehem and Tubas.
The ongoing violence has seen a sharp increase in both the number of arrests and confrontations, adding to the continued instability in the region.
Palestinian officials have condemned the actions of the Israeli forces as part of a broader strategy to suppress Palestinian resistance, while international calls for an end to the occupation and military operations grow louder. Â
Israeli violations against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank continue unabated, amid ongoing aggression in Gaza, now entering its 419th day.
The attacks, including in Jerusalem, have resulted in a total of 797 Palestinians killed and around 6,600 injured, according to Palestinian data.
