Israeli military raids and settler attacks injured at least 19 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, according to local officials and health reports.
West Bank Raids and Settler Assaults Leave Dozens Injured
A wave of violence swept through the occupied West Bank, leaving at least 19 Palestinians injured in a series of coordinated military incursions and settler assaults. In occupied East Jerusalem, the Jerusalem Governorate reported that Israeli forces shot and injured three Palestinians attempting to cross near the separation wall in ar-Ram on Saturday. Authorities noted that the incident was part of near-daily attacks against Palestinian workers barred from their jobs in Israel since the war on Gaza began in October 2023. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said its crews treated at least 11 Palestinians, including four children, for tear gas inhalation during Israeli army raids in the Tubas Governorate. In Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, an elderly man was beaten and bruised by armed settlers, after which Israeli forces raided his home, damaged its contents, and confiscated his family’s phones, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. Further north, the Palestine Red Crescent also reported that two young men were hospitalised after being beaten by Israeli settlers in Arrabeh, south of Jenin, while a 15-year-old boy was hospitalised after a severe beating by settlers in Tammun, in Tubas province, where another child was injured in a settler assault. In separate attacks on Friday, the Israeli army and settlers killed two Palestinians in Hebron and in Jenin. The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the teenager killed in Hebron as 17-year-old Karim Sanad Raja Shalaldeh, who was killed by Israeli settler gunfire after rocks were thrown in Sa’ir, north of Hebron. The Israeli military said soldiers were dispatched to Sa’ir after Palestinians threw rocks at Israeli civilians who were in the area without prior authorization, and that a security official opened fire after some Israelis were injured. Separately, the Palestinian General Authority for Civil Affairs informed the Health Ministry that 58-year-old Fathi Khazem was fatally shot by Israeli forces early Friday in Jenin. An Israeli army official speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military rules said Khazem attempted to stab an Israeli soldier during an overnight operation, and noted that Khazem was the father of Raed Khazem, who shot and killed three people in Tel Aviv in April 2022.
Escalating Tensions and Long-Term Displacement in Area C
In Qusra, south of Nablus, the Hassan and Abu Rida families remain besieged in their homes for a 14th consecutive day by settlers, with Israeli forces maintaining a closed military zone around the site. Residents accuse the army of inaction, which amounts to complicity in the families’ possible forced displacement. The Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said Israeli settlers now number roughly 780,000 across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, living among 192 settlements and 400 outposts, rising to 71 percent of Area C and 91 percent of the Jordan Valley. Wafa reported that Israeli forces and settlers carried out 2,256 attacks against Palestinians, their lands and property across the West Bank in July, with Israeli forces carrying out 1,458 of the attacks and settlers carrying out 798. During separate operations reported on August 11, Israeli forces and settlers injured 12 Palestinians and detained 20 others across the West Bank, including six injured by soldiers during a raid on Burqa northwest of Nablus, and six who suffered breathing difficulties after settlers attacked Palestinians plowing their land in the al-Mughayyir plain. As outposts advance deeper into Palestinian territory, violence, harassment and terror follow. United Nations data underscores the toll: humanitarian monitors recorded more than 1,330 settler-related attacks between January and late July, averaging six per day. More than 2,300 Palestinians have been forced from their homes this year alone due to this pressure.
International Fallout and Legal Battles Over Gaza Blockade
The friction on the ground expanded into the diplomatic arena as Turkey announced it is asking for an international warrant for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his role in stopping several boats trying to break a naval blockade of Gaza in May.
