Israeli occupation forces launched a series of military assaults across the occupied West Bank on Thursday, resulting in several injuries and dozens of arrests. According to Palestinian official media and local sources, the Israeli forces raided several areas, including the town of Qalqilya in the northern West Bank. The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that 23 young men were arrested during a raid on the village of Hajja, east of Qalqilya.
The Israeli forces also raided Qalqilya, firing tear gas and live ammunition, and injuring three young men who were taken to Darwish Nazzal Governmental Hospital with moderate injuries. In Nablus, two Palestinians, aged 60 and 31, were injured after being beaten while detained and subjected to field interrogation during an Israeli raid on Ein Beit al-Maa refugee camp west of the city. Palestinian medical relief teams reported that the two men were injured during the raid.
Israeli military vehicles raided the Ein Beit al-Maa refugee camp before dawn, searching several homes and turning one of them into a military post where several detained residents were questioned. The forces also closed roads around the camp and barred residents from entering or leaving. Meanwhile, Israeli settlers attacked homes in the village of Burqa, east of Ramallah, and set fire to agricultural land, according to local sources.
The fire spread toward residential areas, while Israeli forces prevented Palestinian civil defence crews from reaching the affected land. According to Palestinian official figures, Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed at least 1,109 Palestinians since the start of Israel's military operations in Gaza in October 2023. In Jerusalem, Israeli forces raided Abu Dis, east of Jerusalem, and arrested dozens of Palestinians, subjecting them to field interrogation at the Abu Dis Club.
Israeli bulldozers also demolished five sheet-metal homes and a sheep pen in the Wadi al-Bayk area of Anata, northeast of Jerusalem. The demolitions followed the distribution of dozens of demolition notices in the area on the grounds that the structures lacked permits. The Palestinian governorate of Jerusalem reported that the demolitions were carried out despite international condemnation.
Israel is moving ahead with plans to build thousands of settlement homes in the E1 area between East Jerusalem and the settlement of Maale Adumim. The Jerusalem governorate said Israel's Housing and Construction Ministry updated the tender timetable last week, setting 25 October as the opening date for bids for 2,167 settlement units. The tender process is scheduled to remain open until 21 December.
Palestinian presidency spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh condemned the plans, describing them as a "dangerous escalation" and a "blatant violation of international law and international legitimacy resolutions." He warned that the E1 project threatens the territorial contiguity of the occupied Palestinian territory and could undermine efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state on the 4 June 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Key points
- Israel advances E1 settlement plans despite Arab and international condemnation.
- Israeli forces intensify military assaults across the occupied West Bank, injuring and arresting Palestinians.
- The E1 settlement plan threatens the viability and realization of an independent, contiguous Palestinian state.
