UPDATES NUMBER OF INJURIES, ADDS DETAILS
By Aysar Alais, Mohammad Sio and Rania Abu Shamala
RAMALLAH, Palestine/ISTANBUL (AA)— At least 16 Palestinians suffered injuries after illegal Israeli settlers attacked Bethlehem and Hebron in the occupied West Bank.
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported one gunshot wound to the thigh and nine cases of beating in Khalayel al-Louz near Bethlehem, adding that medics moved three people to a hospital and treated the rest at the scene.
Illegal settlers entered the village, targeted several homes, and set fire to plastic greenhouses used for farming, locals told Anadolu.
Separately, the Israeli army withdrew its forces from the town of Tammun and the al-Faraa refugee camp near Tubas, while continuing its operation in the city and in the towns of Aqaba and Tayasir.
Tammun Mayor Samir Bisharat told Anadolu that troops vacated houses they had turned into military posts and released all detainees except six, who were transferred to Israeli detention centers.
Separately, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that six people, including a pregnant woman, were injured in an attack carried out by illegal Israeli settlers in the Al-Hawawer area of the town of Halhul, north of Hebron in the southern West Bank.
In a related incident also in southern Hebron, the local rights organization Al-Baydar said that illegal settlers detained seven Palestinians in the village of Al-Burj and prevented them from cultivating their land.
Israeli forces continued to target Tubas and nearby towns with movement restrictions and new military positions, local sources told Anadolu.
Nidal Odeh, director of ambulance and emergency services in Tubas, told Anadolu that the troops have injured about 130 people since the operation started early Wednesday, including dozens beaten by soldiers.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said Israeli forces detained 162 people during the operation and later released most of them after field interrogations and mistreatment.
The Israeli army has escalated its attacks in the West Bank since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023.
More than 1,085 Palestinians have since been killed, and 10,700 others injured in attacks by the army and illegal settlers in the occupied territory. More than 20,500 people have also been arrested.
In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.