Israeli occupiers set Palestinian home in occupied West Bank on fire with mother, daughter inside

Israeli occupiers and military forces carried out attacks and raids across the occupied West Bank on Thursday, injuring at least 10 Palestinians and arresting at least 10 others, according to local sources and Palestinian officials. In the southern West Bank, Israeli occupiers set fire to a Palestinian home -- while a mother and her daughter were still inside -- in the town of Yatta in the Hebron (Al-Khalil) governorate, according to local sources. Aliya al-Nawajaa, the owner of the targeted home, told Anadolu that five masked occupiers attacked her residence at dawn. She said one of the occupiers opened the window of the bedroom, where she had been sleeping with her daughter, and threatened her and her family. The attackers then set fire to the bedroom, where the flames spread rapidly before she could extinguish them, al-Nawajaa said. She immediately woke her daughter, she added, and they both managed to flee before the home was engulfed in flames. In a separate development, Israeli military forces began transporting mobile homes to an illegal settlement outpost on Mount Tarousa west of the city of Dura, according to local sources. The sources said that the move was part of an Israeli plan to “expand settlements in the area.” Raids in Nablus In the northern West Bank, Israeli forces injured three Palestinians and arrested 10 others in widespread raids carried out across the Nablus governorate, according to local sources who spoke to Anadolu. The raids, which began Wednesday night, were conducted in the city of Nablus and the nearby towns of Salem, Bazariya, Madama, Ainabus and Awarta. In Nablus, Israeli forces raided several neighborhoods, including Rafidia, Al-Makhfiya, Northern Mountain, Jerusalem and Tunis streets, as well as areas around the Old City. Israeli forces also conducted interrogations and assaulted and arrested local residents, some of whom were later released, local sources said. The raids were accompanied by a heavy military presence and the closure of several roads in the area. In Madama and Ainabus, Israeli forces arrested two local Palestinians after searching their homes, while three others were arrested in Salem, according to the sources. In Bazariya, Israeli forces arrested a young Palestinian man after raiding and searching his home. As of publication, it remains unclear how many Palestinians were detained in the area. Occupiers assault Palestinians in Ramallah, Jordan Valley Meanwhile, seven Palestinians were injured in attacks by Israeli occupiers in Ramallah and the northern Jordan Valley, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa and medical sources. Six other Palestinians were injured when occupiers attacked their vehicle between the villages of Al-Mughayyir and Abu Falah northeast of Ramallah, Wafa reported. Marzouq Abu Naim, deputy head of the Al-Mughayyir village council, said a group of occupiers had infiltrated the Marj Si area and attacked the vehicle, causing it to overturn, the news agency said. Occupiers then assaulted passengers inside the vehicle, injuring six of them, according to Abu Naim. In the northern Jordan Valley, a Palestinian man was injured after being assaulted by occupiers while working in the Al-Baqia plain, according to local medical sources. In Nablus, Israeli forces closed the main entrance to the Balata refugee camp, preventing vehicles from entering or leaving, and raided the camp’s Abbad al-Rahman Mosque, according to an Anadolu correspondent. Clashes erupted in several parts of the camp, which Israeli forces stopped journalists from entering. In Tulkarm, Israeli forces arrested a Palestinian woman and her son after raiding their home, Wafa reported. The woman is the wife of Palestinian detainee Ahmad Matrouk, who has been held in Israeli administrative detention for the past six months, according to the news agency. Since Israel launched its war on Gaza in late 2023, Israeli military forces and occupiers have stepped up attacks on Palestinians and their property across the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Attacks have included the killing and injuring of Palestinians, the demolition of homes and other structures, the burning of mosques and vehicles, and the destruction of agricultural land. Local residents fear the attacks are intended to pave the way for Israel’s annexation of the entire West Bank. Israel was established in 1948 on Palestinian land seized by armed Jewish groups that relied on terrorist tactics, including the massacre of unarmed civilians, to accomplish their military objectives. As a result, at least 750,000 Palestinians were forced to flee their ancestral homes to make way for the new state of Israel.