Israeli forces injure 2 Palestinians, demolish memorial during West Bank raids

Israeli forces injured two Palestinians near Bethlehem, detained a young man west of Jenin and demolished a memorial south of Nablus on Monday during raids across the occupied West Bank. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said its crews transported two Palestinians to a hospital after they were assaulted by Israeli forces in Al-Minya, near Bethlehem, sustaining bruises. In Kafr Dan, west of Jenin, Israeli 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, Israeli troops accompanied by a military bulldozer demolished a memorial to slain Palestinians at the village’s main entrance, local sources said. The troops also seized a display depicting a map of Palestine. Israeli forces uprooted olive trees and shut the iron gates at the entrances to Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya and neighboring As-Sawiya. Bulldozers blocked dirt roads that residents had tried to use to get in and out of the villages, the sources said.

In Hizma, northeast of occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli forces closed the town’s entrances and several shops and fired stun grenades toward residents. Troops also searched the town of Ramin, east of Tulkarem, where no arrests were reported, WAFA said. In the nearby suburb of Iktaba, military vehicles disrupted traffic and soldiers removed a Palestinian flag from Martyrs’ Square, the agency added. Earlier Monday, the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission said it had documented 3,133 attacks by Israeli forces and Israeli occupiers in the West Bank in October, up 52.8% from September.

The commission attributed 1,764 attacks to Israeli forces and 1,369 to Israeli occupiers. It said attacks by occupiers had more than doubled from 647 in September.