RAMALLAH, Palestine

The Israeli army arrested six more Palestinians in military raids in the West Bank on Thursday as illegal settlers staged new attacks on Palestinian farmers in the occupied territory.

Army forces raided several towns in the West Bank, including Nablus, Jenin, Tubas, Ramallah, and Bethlehem, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society said in a joint statement.

Official Palestinian news agency Wafa said that several homes were searched during the raids.

In the town of Bani Naim east of Hebron, Israeli forces searched several homes and questioned nine young people before releasing them, Wafa said.

Several homes were also searched in the towns of Yatta and as-Samu south of Hebron, but no arrests were made.

Israeli forces also raided several areas in Ramallah. No clashes or arrests were reported.

Meanwhile, illegal Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian farmers in Shufa, southeast of Tulkarem in the northern West Bank.

According to Wafa, a group of illegal settlers from the Avnei Hefetz settlement attacked farmers and forced them to leave their farmlands at gunpoint.

A similar settler attack was also reported in the village of Jalud southwest of Nablus.

Over the past few years, the Israeli military has conducted regular raids in the West Bank, which escalated with the beginning of the war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. Palestinians have also been violently attacked by illegal Israeli settlers.

Over 783 Palestinians have since been killed and over 6,300 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

The escalation follows a landmark opinion in July by the International Court of Justice that declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land illegal and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Plans publicly declared by Israel officials to annex the occupied West Bank this week have drawn widespread condemnation.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio