Israeli occupation forces on Monday detained Palestinian Minister of Culture Imad Hamdan and members of his delegation while they were visiting Kafr Ni’ma, west of Ramallah.

The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that settlers had earlier assaulted the Ministry’s staff, blocking their path to the village. The settlers also stole their mobile phones and identity cards before the soldiers carried out the detention.

الاحتلال يحتجز وزير الثقافة والطاقم المرافق، في قرية الشباب بكفر نعمة غرب رام الله

احتجزت قوات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي، اليوم الإثنين، وزير الثقافة عماد حمدان والطاقم المرافق له، خلال زيارته لقرية الشباب في قرية كفر نعمة غرب مدينة رام الله. pic.twitter.com/YL0kbFTC37

— وزارة الثقافة فلسطين Ministry of Culture Palestine (@palestinemoc) August 18, 2025

Those held also included Executive Director of Sharek Youth Forum, Bader Zamara, as well as several young Palestinian men and women from the village, according to the report.

Minister Hamdan denounced the incident, describing the actions of the Israeli forces and settlers as “arrogant and hostile.” He stressed that such measures would not silence Palestinian cultural activity.

“These practices will only fuel our determination to empower youth and sustain cultural initiatives, regardless of the barriers the occupation imposes,” Hamdan stressed.

466 settler attacks in July

The Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission documented 466 settler attacks in July alone, resulting in the killing of four Palestinians and the forced displacement of two Bedouin communities, around 50 families.

Since the beginning of the second year of genocide in Gaza in October 2023, at least 1,014 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the West Bank by Israeli forces and settlers, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion declaring "Israel’s" occupation of Palestinian territory illegal, urging the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East al-Quds.

Smotrich says 'Israel' set to expand E1 settlements

Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister of "Israel", has lately approved moving forward with the E1 settlement plan, a controversial construction project that had been delayed for years and would effectively cut off east occupied al-Quds from the remaining parts of the occupied West Bank.

Smotrich declared that "the plan will bury the idea of a Palestinian state," characterizing it as the "final nail in the coffin" for Palestinian statehood.

Smotrich claimed that the plans had been progressing in full coordination with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and "our friends in the United States," stating that "the US administration completely supports our steps in the West Bank."

The announcement drew widespread condemnations from global players, including the European Commission, which asserted that the annexation of West Bank lands is illegal under international law, and reiterated the EU Commission's stance against the displacement and eviction of Palestinians.