Al-Aqsa stormed by settlers as Israeli raids sweep West Bank
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Israeli forces detained at least 18 Palestinians in overnight raids, targeting activists and former detainees across Al-Khalil, Nablus, and Salfit.
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Israeli settlers raid Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in al-Quds on Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP)
Israeli settlers stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque on Wednesday morning under heavy protection from Israeli occupation police. The settlers conducted provocative tours within the sacred compound and performed rituals, continuing a recurring pattern of provocation.
The incursion into Al-Aqsa came as part of a broader escalation by the Israeli occupation across the occupied West Bank, where at dawn, Israeli forces launched a widespread campaign of raids, which saw them detaining at least 18 Palestinians.
The detentions are part of a broader policy of collective punishment and systematic retaliation against Palestinian civilians.
Among those detained were former Palestinian detainees and political activists. The raids targeted multiple areas, with the heaviest arrests reported in the governorates of al-Khalil, Nablus, and Salfit.
In the southern West Bank, Israeli troops stormed the village of Umm al-Khair in the Masafer Yatta region of al-Khalil, arresting eight Palestinians after violently breaking into their homes and ransacking personal property.
Two additional arrests took place in al-Khalil: one in the city proper and another in the village of Khirbet Tuba in the southern countryside.
In the northern West Bank, the city of Nablus also came under heavy assault. Israeli forces stormed the al-Ein refugee camp, Beit Furik, and Ibn Rushd Street, arresting six Palestinians, including minors, and damaging homes during the brutal raid.
In Salfit, Israeli occupation forces detained Ayman al-Deek, a former detainee from the town of Kafr al-Deek. Another youth was detained in the area amid similar home invasions.
Not an isolated incident
The Israeli occupation has intensified its military raids and detention campaigns across the occupied West Bank, detaining at least 30 Palestinians between Monday night and Tuesday.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club and the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission, the campaign targeted several areas, with a focus on al-Fawwar refugee camp in the al-Khalil governorate. Additional arrests and field interrogations were carried out across Ramallah, Beit Lahm, Nablus, Tubas, Salfit, Tulkarm, and Qalqilya.
Among those detained were three recently released prisoners from Qalqilya: Samih al-Shubaki, Saed al-Fayed, and Saeed Diab, all of whom had been freed earlier this year as part of a ceasefire deal. Their re-arrest, the two organizations stressed, is a clear violation of the agreement and reflects a deliberate Israeli policy of targeting freed detainees.
On Monday morning, settlers launched an attack on the town of Taybeh, located east of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, setting fire to two vehicles and spray-painting racist and threatening graffiti on the walls of homes.
Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces, accompanied by vehicles from the occupation's intelligence agency, raided the town of Silwan, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, according to local sources.
Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces continued their arrest campaign targeting Palestinians across multiple areas of the West Bank, detaining two Palestinians from al-Khalil Governorate in the southern West Bank along with three Palestinian youths from the town of Azzun east of Qalqilya after raiding and searching their homes.
Israeli forces also detained three Palestinians from the city of al-Bireh and the nearby village of al-Mazra'a al-Gharbiya, northwest of Ramallah in the West Bank, as well as four individuals from Beit Lahm.
Mass detentions top 18,000 since start of West Bank aggression
The latest wave brings the total number of detentions in the West Bank, including occupied al-Quds, to over 18,000 since the beginning of the current Israeli assault, not counting the thousands arrested in Gaza, many of whom were later released or remain missing.
The occupation forces continue to conduct nightly incursions, often accompanied by live fire, destruction of property, and the use of detainees as human shields. Palestinian families regularly report violent home invasions, physical abuse, and on-site interrogations.
In a related development, occupation troops stormed al-Khader, south of Beit Lahm, on Tuesday evening. They blocked the main road between the town and its gate, raided multiple homes belonging to the Salah family, and vandalized personal belongings. No arrests were reported during the raid.
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