Israeli regime escalates West Bank raids with mass arrests
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"Israel" detains 30 Palestinians in mass West Bank raids, re-arrests freed prisoners, storms Bedouin areas after activist’s killing in Khirbet Umm al-Khair.
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On Monday, July 21, 2025, a man tidies the graves of Palestinian-American Sayfollah Musallet, left, and Mohammed al-Shalabi, both of whom were killed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank town of Al Mazra al-Sharqiya. (AP)
The Israeli occupation has intensified its military raids and detention campaigns across the occupied West Bank, arresting at least 30 Palestinians between Monday night and Tuesday. The arrests are part of a broader policy of collective punishment and systematic retaliation against Palestinian civilians.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club and the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission, the latest 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.
Mass arrests top 18,000 since start of West Bank aggression
The latest wave brings the total number of arrests 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.
Settlement expansion, forced displacement accelerate
Elsewhere in the Al-Khalil governorate, Israeli forces raided the funeral tent of Palestinian teacher and rights activist Awdah Hathaleen in Khirbet Umm al-Khair, southeast of Yatta. They attacked mourners and declared the area a closed military zone, in what residents see as part of a sustained campaign against Bedouin communities in Masafer Yatta.
Hathaleen was martyred by a settler's gunfire while attempting to prevent the destruction of Palestinian land in the area, a killing rights groups have labeled part of the systematic targeting of Palestinian activists.
Under the protection of heavily armed occupation forces, Israeli settlers have resumed illegal excavation works in Khirbet Umm al-Khair, aiming to expand the “Karmiel” settlement built on Palestinian land. Since the start of the year, the Bedouin village has witnessed a sharp uptick in settler violence, home demolitions, and denial of access to water sources and grazing lands.
Netanyahu, Smotrich seeking further annexation
Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to move forward with "annexing" the occupied West Bank, declaring there is "no more appropriate time" to apply full "Israeli sovereignty" over the territory.
Speaking before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee’s Subcommittee for Judea and Samaria, Smotrich framed the move as a "historic correction" to what he called the 2005 “mistake” of "Israel’s" unilateral withdrawal from Gaza’s Gush Katif settlement bloc. He emphasized the "annexation’s political, security, economic, and moral significance,” describing it as essential to the Zionist project.
“We’re advancing in two stages,” Smotrich explained. “First, de facto sovereignty, through administrative and cognitive processes to normalize settlement. Second, internal institutional changes, so that when the formal act is carried out, the system will be ready. We’ve done the groundwork—legally and administratively. We’re ready to press the button.”
In a direct appeal to Netanyahu, Smotrich stressed, “We have full support from the US administration—I say this from knowledge. The sky will not fall.” He called on the prime minister to act decisively, invoking Jewish historical destiny and urging him to convene the government to approve annexation.
Netanyahu weighs partial Gaza annexation to appease Smotrich
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly preparing to propose a "phased annexation" of parts of the Gaza Strip to the Security and Political Cabinet, in a bid to placate far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and safeguard his fragile governing coalition, Haaretz reported Monday evening.
Under the plan, Hamas would be given a brief window to accept a ceasefire deal. Should the group refuse, "Israel" would initiate a step-by-step "annexation of Gaza territory," starting with areas along the Strip’s eastern border, the so-called "internal buffer zone" maintained by Israeli occupation forces. The process would then expand northward, particularly targeting zones near Sderot and Askalan, with the ultimate aim of "annexing Gaza" in its entirety.
The proposal is expected to follow Netanyahu’s decision to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza, a move opposed by Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party. Sources cited by Haaretz suggest the "annexation plan" is part of a calculated balancing act by Netanyahu, offering concessions on aid while pushing forward with territorial expansion to retain far-right support.
During closed-door discussions with ministers, Netanyahu reportedly stated the "phased annexation plan" had received a "green light" from the administration of US President Donald Trump.
