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Israeli forces detain dozens in West Bank raids after deadly occupier attack

Dozens of Israelis, under the protection of the Israeli army, raid the town of Sarra, affiliated with the city of Nablus, West Bank, Palestine on July 24, 2026. (AA Photo)
July 25, 2026 12:11 PM GMT+03:00

Israeli forces detained at least 70 Palestinians in raids across the occupied West Bank on Saturday, while eight others were wounded in a separate settler attack, according to Palestinian media and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.

The official Voice of Palestine radio said Israeli forces arrested more than 40 young Palestinian men during an ongoing raid on Tell, west of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank.

Israeli troops seized a house in the town and converted it into a field interrogation center, the broadcaster said.

It added that Israeli forces were carrying out extensive raids on homes across the town while surrounding it from all directions.

Israeli soldiers surround the Nablus Specialized Hospital where they allegedly arrested a wounded man and his brother from inside the hospital in Nablus, in the occupied West Bank on July 24, 2026. (AFP Photo)
Israeli soldiers surround the Nablus Specialized Hospital where they allegedly arrested a wounded man and his brother from inside the hospital in Nablus, in the occupied West Bank on July 24, 2026. (AFP Photo)

Raids reported in Jenin, Bethlehem

The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that Israeli forces launched widespread raids before dawn in Jenin and several towns and villages across the governorate.

Troops searched a number of homes and detained five Palestinians, while military operations continued in several parts of the governorate, according to local sources cited by the agency.

Separately, Israeli forces detained three Palestinians in the Bethlehem governorate.

Eight wounded in Farata attack

In another incident, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said eight Palestinians were wounded, including six who were shot with live fire, in an attack by Israeli settlers on the village of Farata, east of Qalqilya in the northwestern West Bank.

The organization did not immediately provide further details on the attack or the condition of the wounded.

In Farata, near the illegal Havat Gilad settlement, "settlers set fire to the olive groves," said Abdel Moneim Shanneh, head of the local council.

"The army prevented young men from the village from extinguishing fires and opened fire on them," he said.

The Palestinian Red Crescent also reported that two men were wounded during another settler attack in Sarra, near Nablus.

Firefighting teams extinguish the fire as dozens of Israelis, under the protection of the Israeli army, raid the town of Sarra, affiliated with the city of Nablus, West Bank, Palestine on July 24, 2026. (AA Photo)
Firefighting teams extinguish the fire as dozens of Israelis, under the protection of the Israeli army, raid the town of Sarra, affiliated with the city of Nablus, West Bank, Palestine on July 24, 2026. (AA Photo)

Tell buries 4 Palestinians killed in clash

Palestinians in Tell on Saturday buried four men killed during a clash with Israeli settlers in the village the previous day, local officials said.

"Families of the four martyrs held a common funeral early this morning, around 1:00 a.m. (8 p.m. GMT), but the army restricted who could attend and only about 30 people were able to be there," Walid Zidan, head of the Tell village council, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

By the time of the funeral, movement was still restricted. Zidan said the military was still present in the village Saturday morning, having detained 51 residents for questioning and released only six.

Ghassan Daghlas, the governor of the Nablus region, which includes Tell, attended the funeral.

"Daghlas participated in the funeral procession of the martyrs from the village of Tell, amid a large public turnout of residents from the village and across Nablus Governorate," his office said in a statement.

A photo posted on Facebook by the governor's office showed the bodies of the four Palestinians on stretchers and wrapped in Palestinian flags.

The bodies of Palestinians killed in an attack by Israeli settlers on the town of Tel, west of Nablus in West Bank, are brought to the morgue of Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, West Bank on July 25, 2026. (AA Photo)
The bodies of Palestinians killed in an attack by Israeli settlers on the town of Tel, west of Nablus in West Bank, are brought to the morgue of Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, West Bank on July 25, 2026. (AA Photo)

Netanyahu orders West Bank operation

On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered what they described as a "wide-scale military operation" in Palestinian villages across the West Bank after an attack near Havat Gilad killed two Israelis and wounded three others.

According to sources and witnesses, Israeli settlers later attacked several Palestinian communities in the Nablus governorate, setting fire to Palestinian homes and other property.

Four Palestinians were killed Friday in an attack by Israeli settlers and Israeli forces on Tell, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Netanyahu also ordered the establishment of new settler outposts in the occupied West Bank in what was described as a retaliatory move after the confrontation left two Israelis and four Palestinians dead.

Following the incident, Netanyahu vowed to "act with full force against the terrorists and those who orchestrate and sponsor them."

He later announced steps including raids in Palestinian villages suspected of hosting militants and "accelerating the legalization of farm outposts and establishment of new ones" in the West Bank.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denounced the move, saying "the continuation of these crimes and daily violations against the Palestinian people is pushing the occupied West Bank toward an explosion."

Friday's violence erupted near Havat Gilad and the neighboring Palestinian village of Tell, in territory occupied by Israel since 1967.

Israeli forces deploy to the area as Israeli settlers attack Palestinian farmers and set fire to agricultural lands in the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus in West Bank, Palestine on July 23, 2026. (AA Photo)
Israeli forces deploy to the area as Israeli settlers attack Palestinian farmers and set fire to agricultural lands in the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus in West Bank, Palestine on July 23, 2026. (AA Photo)

Zidan said the clashes began when a group of about 20 settlers entered the village.

"Villagers came out to defend their homes and property. Clashes and physical altercations broke out between the residents and the settlers," Zidan told AFP.

"Israeli soldiers were present and together with the settlers began opening fire," he said.

"It was the settlers who stormed the village, with the intention of killing, vandalizing and setting property on fire," he added.

The Ramallah-based Palestinian Health Ministry said four Palestinians were killed and four others were wounded in the incident.

The Israeli military said there had been a violent confrontation between dozens of Palestinians and Israeli civilians in Tell.

A military official said an emergency response security team from Havat Gilad was called to the scene along with soldiers.

"During the confrontation, shots were fired on both sides and a weapon belonging to a member of the emergency response security team was stolen by a Palestinian terrorist," the official said.

"One member of the security team was killed during the incident and additional security members were injured," the official added.

Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service said a man in his 30s was pronounced dead near Havat Gilad. Two others were wounded by gunfire, one of them seriously.

The Israeli military later said another Israeli, an officer, was also killed in the violence.

Israeli forces deploy to the area as Israeli settlers attack Palestinian farmers and set fire to agricultural lands in the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus in West Bank, Palestine on July 23, 2026. (AA Photo)
Israeli forces deploy to the area as Israeli settlers attack Palestinian farmers and set fire to agricultural lands in the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus in West Bank, Palestine on July 23, 2026. (AA Photo)

Hospital arrests reported

Grieving Palestinian relatives gathered at two hospitals in nearby Nablus, where the victims' bodies were taken, an AFP journalist reported.

Shortly after, Israeli troops entered one hospital and detained a man wounded during the clash, as well as his brother, a hospital official told AFP.

An AFP journalist at the scene saw troops taking at least one handcuffed man from the hospital.

The Israeli military said troops arrested two men from the Nablus hospital who had taken part in the clashes.

AFP journalists were unable to reach the site of the violence because Israeli forces had set up roadblocks across the area.

The Israeli military said it was preparing to launch an "extensive counterterrorism operational activity" in the West Bank and had postponed soldiers' leave in the territory.

"We are pursuing every terrorist involved in the attack," military chief Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said during a visit to Tell, according to a statement.

West Bank violence surges during Gaza war

Violence in the occupied West Bank has surged since the Gaza war began with Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. In recent years, the number of settlements in the Palestinian territory, which are illegal under international law, has soared.

All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, while outposts are small settlements usually established without government approval and are generally illegal under Israeli law as well.

Excluding East Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank alongside around 3 million Palestinians.

Israeli figures show that at least 48 Israelis, including civilians and security personnel, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations since the start of the Gaza war.

According to an AFP tally based on Palestinian Health Ministry data, Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed at least 1,094 Palestinians, including both militants and civilians, over the same period.

July 25, 2026 12:11 PM GMT+03:00
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