Israeli occupation forces carried out a series of nighttime raids across the occupied West Bank and captured at least 16 Palestinians, including children, in the city of al-Khalil on Wednesday, Al-Mayadeen TV’s English-language website reported.
According to Al Mayadeen’s correspondent, the raids extended to the town of Yabad, south of Jenin, where the military rearrested former detainees who had been released only the night before. In Al-Bireh, Israeli forces surrounded a house in the Umm al-Shalayet area and detained a young man.
Witnesses reported that Israeli forces assaulted several detainees during their arrests, beating them and ransacking their homes.
Elsewhere, Israeli forces set up new checkpoints at the entrances to al-Khalil and nearby towns and refugee camps, blocking major roads with iron gates, concrete barriers and embankments to impede movement.
In another incident late Tuesday, a group of Israeli settlers attacked the outskirts of Burka village east of Ramallah and attempted to raid the area before finally withdrawing. According to WAFA news agency, no injuries or property damage were reported.
Israeli occupation forces stormed the town of Abu Dis, just east of occupied al-Quds, on Tuesday, firing tear gas and acoustic grenades indiscriminately at people on the streets, traumatizing residents and forcing many to change routes to avoid escalating violence.
The attack coincides with a surge in attacks by settlers and Israeli forces across the occupied West Bank, with the United Nations reporting that it recorded some 757 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and their property in the first half of this year alone.
A spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres said settlers were carrying out violent attacks against Palestinians in an environment where there was an almost total lack of accountability and protection for vulnerable people.
Meanwhile, Muayad Shaaban, head of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Office, revealed that occupation forces and settlers have carried out 158 attacks against olive pickers across governorates in the West Bank since the season began in early October.
Of these 158 attacks, Shaaban identified 17 as being carried out by Israeli forces and 141 by settlers. Violations included physical violence, detention, and in places such as Tubas, farmers were prevented from freely accessing their land.
He also pointed out that the olive harvest has been systematically and deliberately targeted by the occupation due to its national symbolism, historical ties to the Palestinian people and their land, and its economic, social and cultural importance.
According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, 41 separate attacks by settlers on Palestinian olive pickers in the West Bank have been recorded this month.
MNA