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Raid near Jerusalem
Israeli forces raided the Qalandia refugee camp north of Jerusalem on Wednesday, with AFP reporting that Israeli troops entered the camp with about a dozen armoured military jeeps while soldiers did not allow press or residents to enter.
“Israeli forces arrested at least 20 people during a raid on the Qalandia camp”
The New Arab reported that Israeli forces arrested at least 20 people during the raid, and the Palestine Red Crescent said eight people were taken to hospital after suffering injuries.
A military official told AFP that "Security forces are operating in the Qalandia camp area in order to thwart terror and apprehend wanted individuals," while COGAT said the large-scale operation targeted "terrorist elements, terrorist infrastructure, and the possession and trafficking of weapons".
The New Arab also said residents fear eviction and displacement tied to a broader strategy, pointing to a 2023 plan for a 9,000-unit settlement on the grounds of Jerusalem’s former Atarot airport adjacent to Qalandia.
Injuries, arrests, and beatings
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said its teams dealt with eight cases of injuries resulting from physical assaults by Israeli occupation forces during their raid on Qalandia refugee camp, and it said five medical cases were evacuated from inside the camp.
Yaffa News Network reported that Israeli occupation forces assaulted a number of journalists while they were covering the raid, preventing them from carrying out their journalistic work and reporting on the situation inside the camp.
In pictures, Al Jazeera said Israeli forces entered homes and shops in the occupied West Bank’s Qalandiya refugee camp near Ramallah and issued demolition threats, while the Palestine Red Crescent Society said eight Palestinian people were taken to hospital after suffering injuries.
Mohammad Aslan, spokesman for the committee that runs the affairs of the camp, told AFP that the Israeli army had arrested at least 20 people and took up positions on residents’ roofs.
What comes next
The New Arab said Palestinian residents have voiced fear that raids and home demolitions could be tied to a strategy of eviction ahead of settlement construction, while it added that there was no official word from Israeli authorities.
“residents fear eviction, with eight people reported injured”
Haaretz described the operation as a "large-scale operation" in the Qalandiya refugee camp north of Jerusalem, saying Israeli security forces launched it overnight Tuesday into Wednesday and targeted what authorities described as "terrorist elements" in the camp while reportedly blocking several entrances.
WAFA said Israeli forces continued their raid since dawn on Wednesday amid heavy military reinforcements, and it reported that Israeli troops fired tear gas and stun grenades at journalists while deploying in the camp’s main street to obstruct media coverage.
WAFA also said the Jerusalem Governorate noted that Israeli forces shut down several entrances to the camp with earth mounds as the raid continued, restricting the movement of residents, and it said the occupation forces had stormed the camp at dawn with dozens of vehicles and bulldozers.
