Israeli forces step up attacks, raids in occupied West Bank

UN agency says the number of Palestinians displaced has more than doubled since October 7.

Israeli forces have stepped up attacks across the occupied West Bank, in which at least seven Palestinians, including two children, were wounded.

Israeli forces raided the Qalqilya refugee camp near Nablus on Wednesday night, shooting two Palestinians – the first in the back and the second in the legs – according to the Wafa news agency.

In parallel clashes at the Askar refugee camp, Israeli gunfire injured five people, including two children aged 15 and 13, Wafa reported.

Separate attacks by Israeli settlers near the illegal Beit El settlement north of Ramallah left a Palestinian woman injured.

The victim, identified as Tasneem Faraj, was taken to hospital after being hit in the head by stones thrown by the settlers, Wafa reported.

The attacks mark the latest uptick of violence in the West Bank.

In the week leading up to Monday, Israeli settlers carried out 27 attacks against Palestinians on the territory, injuring 17 people, including two children, and causing damage to property, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

On Wednesday, Israeli forces raided the Balata refugee camp near the city of Nablus, destroying the local headquarters of the Fatah faction, Palestinian authorities said.

The previous day at least 12 Palestinians were killed in clashes with security forces carrying out raids around the city of Jenin, in the northern West Bank.

The Israeli military also stormed Surif town, northwest of Hebron, al-Khader town, south of Bethlehem, and Tulkarem city on Wednesday night. Clashes and arrests were reported in Husan village, west of Bethlehem.

In occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli soldiers stormed the Yabous Cultural Center to prevent the screening of short films about Israel’s war on Gaza.

In the town of Dura, located south of Hebron, Israeli soldiers surrounded the home of Moamen Fayez al-Masalma, who was shot dead by Israeli forces in April, Wafa reported. Forcing the residents to leave, the soldiers planted explosives on the building’s interior walls, the ensuing detonation destroying the house.

Demolishing the homes of Palestinians suspected of carrying out attacks on Israelis is a long-held practice of the military, which human rights groups say is a policy of “collective punishment” that may amount to war crimes.

Footage released by Israeli rights group Yesh Din showed Israeli settlers attacking a Palestinian home with rocks and setting fire to a seating area.

In a second clip, cars were set alight in a car park in the Palestinian village of Yatma, located south of Nablus.

MK @rothmar claimed today in the Knesset that "violent settlers are a modern blood libel." The violent settlers themselves prove daily how wrong he is. Last night, a large group of settlers invaded the village of Yatma in the West Bank and set fire to a home & a parking lot: pic.twitter.com/J0xINZ59Ya

— Yesh Din English (@Yesh_Din) August 7, 2024

OCHA said the number of Palestinians displaced in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has more than doubled since October 7, compared with the preceding 10 months.

Some 3,070 Palestinians have been forced from their homes due to demolitions, Israeli settler violence and land confiscations in the past 10 months, compared with 1,252 in the previous period, the UN agency said.

It added that some 181,000 people in the West Bank had been affected at least once by demolitions, destruction of roads, water and sanitation facilities, and other public infrastructure since October 7, mainly during Israeli military raids in Tulkarem and Jenin.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies