Israel intensifies daily raids on occupied West Bank

At least four Palestinians, including three teenagers, were killed in 24 hours, while 60 people were arrested.

The Israeli army is intensifying its raids on the occupied West Bank, with near-daily incursions taking place across the territory.

At least four Palestinians, including three teenagers, were killed in such attacks in the last 24 hours, Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford said, reporting from Ramallah late on Wednesday.

Sixty Palestinians were arrested during that time, he said.

The four killed included one 16-year-old in Jenin in the north of the West Bank, two brothers in Tubas, and one in Balata in Nablus, our correspondent said.

Meanwhile, overnight in Tulkarem, a city in the north, an improvised explosive device went off while a convoy of armoured vehicles drove by.

“We’re getting reports about a raid on the refugee camp in Tulkarem … It’s often described as a centre for the Palestinian armed resistance,” Stratford said.

Several Palestinian workers from Gaza were detained overnight following an Israeli raid in the town of Faroun, near Tulkarem, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

Sources from Tulkarem told Wafa that Israeli forces raided the city’s Kamal Salama building and took the workers from their residential apartments.

Israeli forces also raided other areas including the Aida refugee camp south of Bethlehem; the villages and towns of Silat al-Dhahr, al-Atara, Arana, al-Jalama, Faqoua, al-Arqa, and Zububa in the Jenin governorate, and the village of Beit Dajan, east of Nablus.

Settler attacks

Since October 7, the number of Palestinians killed in Israeli raids on the West Bank has risen to 266, with more than 3,640 people arrested.

The West Bank has seen surging violence and arrests in parallel to Israel’s eight-week-old war on the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 16,248 Palestinians – including 7,112 children – there.

Israel says it is targeting Hamas in Gaza, but the vast majority of casualties are civilians. Escalating violence in the West Bank is also taking place despite Hamas having no presence in that section of the occupied territories.

Meanwhile, attacks by Israeli settlers are also on the rise in the West Bank.

“Settler attacks in tandem with these raids means that millions of Palestinians across the occupied territories are facing terrifying pressures on a daily basis,” Stratford said. “The UN says these attacks have doubled since October 7, with at least 308 attacks recorded until about three days ago, and at least eight Palestinians killed in these settler attacks.”

The United States on Tuesday announced a move to impose visa restrictions on “extremist” Israeli settlers involved in undermining peace, security or stability in the occupied West Bank.

However, rights groups, Palestinians, and some in the international community are accusing Israel of not doing enough to stop settler violence.