WEST BANK, (The Palestinian Information Center) The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Wednesday morning demolished two homes belonging to families of Palestinian prisoners and martyrs in the West Bank cities of Tulkarem and Tubas.
In the village of Kafr Abbush, south of Tulkarem, large numbers of Israeli troops stormed the area and forcibly evacuated the home of Abdullah and Abdul Rahman Dhafer Bishnaq, both of whom are imprisoned in Israeli jails. The house was then rigged with explosives and detonated by the IOF troops.
The Israeli army later confirmed it had demolished the home of the alleged perpetrators of a shooting attack at the Hamra Junction in the Jordan Valley a year ago, which killed an Israeli soldier and was claimed by Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas Movement.
In a simultaneous operation, Israeli forces raided the city of Tubas and besieged the home of martyrs Ahmed and Mohammed Daraghmeh, later blowing it up. Another home belonging to martyr Ahmed Abu Arrah in the town of Aqaba, also in the Tubas governorate, was also demolished.
Abu Arrah and his companion Raafat Dawassi were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Jenin in August 2024. Israel accused the pair of forming armed cells and manufacturing explosive devices used in operations against Israeli targets.
The demolitions come amid escalating Israeli military operations and settler violence across the West Bank and Occupied Jerusalem, which have surged to unprecedented levels in recent months, bolstered by the support of Israel’s far-right government.
Also on Wednesday morning, fierce clashes erupted in Jenin, northern West Bank, after Israeli forces surrounded a home in the Al-Marah neighborhood. Local sources reported that the military called on those inside the house to surrender. Footage showed Israeli military vehicles surrounding the property and the sound of heavy gunfire, followed by reports of a Palestinian man being arrested.
Since the beginning of the year, Jenin and its refugee camp have witnessed numerous targeted assassinations of resistance fighters as part of an unprecedented military campaign that has left dozens dead and caused widespread destruction.
The latest raids come two days after an Al-Qassam Brigades operation near Occupied Jerusalem that killed six Israeli settlers.
Widespread raids and arrests
The IOF also carried out night raids in multiple areas including the city of Qalqilya, Balata refugee camp and surrounding towns in Nablus, as well as al-Khalil and nearby areas such as Beit Ummar and Adh-Dhahiriya. Local sources reported that several Palestinians were arrested during the raids.
In Beit Awwa near al-Khalil, Israeli forces demolished the home of prisoner Thabet Masalmeh, accused of involvement in a tunnel operation months ago. The IOF troops stormed the town at dawn, surrounded the house, and detonated it.
Meanwhile, in the village of Yabrud, northeast of Ramallah, a young Palestinian man was injured after being attacked by Israeli settlers outside his home. In Nablus, settlers torched an agricultural nursery in the town of Deir Sharaf during an overnight assault on Palestinian properties.
In parallel with the devastating war on Gaza, the West Bank has witnessed a sharp increase in Israeli military and settler attacks, with at least 1,020 Palestinians killed, 7,000 injured, and 19,000 arrested since October 2023, according to official Palestinian data.
