The Israeli occupation forces tightened their military measures in various areas of the West Bank on Saturday, strengthened the closure of entrances to the city of Hebron, and forced dozens of Palestinians to evacuate their homes, while arresting 15 Palestinians in Nablus Governorate. They continued raiding homes and assaulting Palestinians, coinciding with attacks carried out by settlers against farmers and agricultural workers.
Closures and home evacuations in Hebron
The Palestinian News Agency (Wafa) reported that occupation forces reinforced their deployment in Hebron city, closing entrances and roads leading to it and connecting it to adjacent towns and villages. This coincided with raids on several areas, including Deir Baha, Al-Jalida, and Numra, as well as raiding and searching citizens' homes. Occupation forces forced dozens of Palestinians to evacuate their homes in the Al-Jalida and Deir Baha areas and carried out a wide arrest campaign, detaining several Palestinians and subjecting them to field interrogation before releasing them.
The closure disrupted movement in the city and its surroundings. Universities and schools announced the suspension of classes, and the Transport and Public Transport Union took measures to halt vehicle movement to protect the safety of residents amid the presence of military checkpoints. In this context, Hebron Governorate announced the activation of an emergency plan to assist families forced to evacuate their homes and provide support to Palestinians stranded at town entrances.
Raids and arrests in Nablus, Tulkarm, and Jericho
In Nablus Governorate, occupation forces raided the city and deployed in several neighborhoods, raiding several homes and arresting 15 Palestinians, including nine from the city and six from the village of Burin to the south. Occupation forces also raided Tulkarm city and the town of Tamun to the south, raiding and searching Palestinian homes, tampering with their contents, and interrogating residents, with no arrests reported at the time of writing.
In Jericho, occupation forces arrested a Palestinian from Aqabat Jaber camp, raided the city and Ein al-Sultan camp, and raided areas in the city center. Occupation forces also arrested two Palestinians from Bethlehem Governorate after raiding their homes in the Handaza area and Al-Azza Camp.
Escalating assaults on farmers
In the context of assaults on Palestinians and their agricultural lands, settlers attacked workers in cactus farms in Khirbet Suba west of Hebron on Saturday morning, injuring several of them, while occupation forces prevented an ambulance from reaching them. In the village of Beit Iksa northwest of occupied Jerusalem, settlers assaulted Palestinians while they were harvesting olives in agricultural lands, under the protection of occupation forces that fired live ammunition and tear gas canisters at them, and arrested a Palestinian after assaulting him.
Local sources indicated that the assault occurred despite prior coordination to enable farmers to access their lands and harvest olives, noting that lands surrounding settlement outposts in the West Bank witness repeated assaults targeting farmers and hindering their access to fields and harvesting crops. The occupation forces had closed the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron city, West Bank, to worshippers on Friday and forced employees and caretakers affiliated with the Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs to leave it.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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