Israeli army raids Palestinian towns, forces shop closures in occupied West Bank

The Israeli army raided two Palestinian towns in the southern occupied West Bank late Sunday, forcing shop owners to close their businesses and assaulting residents, according to witnesses and Palestinian state media.

The raids came during peak shopping hours as town centers were crowded with residents preparing for the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday and after the Palestinian government released part of public employees’ salaries.

The main raid focused on Dura, south of Hebron, where witnesses told Anadolu that Israeli military vehicles entered the town center amid heavy crowds before troops spread across streets, fired tear gas canisters and forced shop owners to shut their stores.

Witnesses said Israeli soldiers rounded up several young men, blindfolded them and gathered them outside a shop while assaulting them.

The state-run Voice of Palestine radio said clashes broke out between Palestinian youths and Israeli forces during the Israeli army’s raid on the town of Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem.

During April, Israeli occupiers carried out 540 attacks against Palestinians and their property in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, according to a monthly report by the Palestinian Authority’s Commission against the Wall and Settlements.

The assaults came as the Israeli military continued escalating attacks in the West Bank including killings, arrests and raids on cities and towns involving home searches and destruction of property since the start of Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023.

Attacks by the Israeli army and occupiers in the West Bank have since killed 1,162 Palestinians, injured 12,245 and led to nearly 23,000 arrests, according to official figures.

*Writing by Tarek Chouiref