Israeli forces injure Palestinians, demolish memorial in West Bank

Israeli forces injured two Palestinians near Bethlehem, detained a young man west of Jenin and demolished a memorial south of Nablus on Monday during widespread raids across the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian officials and agencies.

Raids across West Bank

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said its crews transported two injured men to hospital after Israeli forces assaulted residents in Al-Minya, southeast of Bethlehem, leaving them with bruises. In Kafr Dan, west of Jenin, special forces raided a home and several shops before detaining a young man and withdrawing, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

In Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya, south of Nablus, troops accompanied by a military bulldozer razed a memorial to slain Palestinians at the village entrance and seized a display depicting a map of Palestine, local sources said. Forces also uprooted olive trees and sealed iron gates at entrances to Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya and neighboring As-Sawiya, while bulldozers blocked dirt roads residents had used to access the villages.

Operations in Jerusalem and Tulkarem

Israeli forces closed entrances to Hizma northeast of occupied East Jerusalem alongside several shops and fired stun grenades toward residents during the operations. Troops also searched the town of Ramin, east of Tulkarem, without making arrests, while in nearby Iktaba, military vehicles disrupted traffic and soldiers removed a Palestinian flag from Martyrs' Square, WAFA said.

Documented surge in violence

The Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission said it documented 3,133 attacks by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank during October, marking a 52.8% increase from September. The commission attributed 1,764 attacks to Israeli forces and 1,369 to settlers, noting that settler violence more than doubled from the 647 incidents recorded the previous month.