Israeli army arrests 2 Palestinians as occupiers storm West Bank village

Israeli forces arrested two Palestinians on Friday during raids across the occupied West Bank, while hundreds of Israeli occupiers stormed the village of Awarta south of Nablus under army protection, Palestinian media reported. The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said Israeli forces raided the village of Tell, southwest of Nablus, searched several homes and damaged their contents before arresting a Palestinian and seizing his vehicle. Another young Palestinian man was arrested during an Israeli raid on Qalandia refugee camp, north of occupied East Jerusalem, local sources said. In the Nablus governate, hundreds of occupiers stormed Awarta village early Friday under Israeli army protection and performed Talmudic rituals at Islamic shrines in the village, according to the same sources. Israeli forces also seized a home in the village and turned it into a military post. In the Bethlehem governorate, Israeli forces raided Al-Ma’sara village south of the city and searched the home of former prisoner and deportee Mohammed Zawahra, but no arrests were reported, Wafa said. In the Tubas governorate in the northern West Bank, local sources told Anadolu that Israeli forces stormed Tammun town with several military vehicles, deployed in several areas and raided a home, but no arrests were reported. The occupied West Bank has witnessed a continued escalation of occupier attacks and Israeli military operations since the start of Israel’s genocide in Gaza on Oct. 8, 2023. The escalation has come alongside the expansion of settlement outposts, the construction of roads and increased restrictions on Palestinian movement.​​​​​​​