West Bank: Israel army re-raids Tubas, detains Palestinians en masse

The Israeli military once again raided the Palestinian city of Tubas in the early hours of Monday, just over 24 hours after withdrawing from the occupied West Bank city following a four-day military operation.

The incursion began around 3:30 am local time, imposing a curfew on Tubas' residents and closing all the city's main and secondary entrances with earth mounds, completely isolating it.

Scores of soldiers also raided homes in Tubas, searching them before converting them into military barracks.

"This operation comes after days of aggression that left widespread destruction of public and private property, in addition to hundreds of injuries and arrests in recent days," Tubas governorate told the Turkish Anadolu agency.

The raid disrupted Palestinians' daily routine on Monday, including halting government services and education. Tubas’ Director of Education said in-person classes were suspended "until further notice" with teachers forced to switch to distance learning, due to the curfew imposed by the Israeli military.

The Directorate added that "the date for resuming in-person classes will be announced later, depending on developments on the ground".

In Aqaba, located around 15 kilometres away from Tubas, two Israeli military helicopters were seen dropping off dozens of soldiers, as part of the wider raid on the governorate.

The soldiers then moved to a military outpost established by the Israeli army in the southeastern part of Aqaba, local journalist Zaid Abu Ara told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, The New Arab’s Arabic sister site.

Homes in the Palestinian town were also raided and subsequently turned into military barracks, Abu Ara added.

This comes after Israeli forces carried out a large-scale incursion and siege in Tubas on Wednesday, firing from helicopters and forcing Palestinians out of their homes, as well as cutting all access to the area.

The military operation lasted until Saturday, after which Israeli forces withdrew from Tubas, as well as the neighbouring villages of Tammun and Tayasir, and the Fara’a refugee camp.

The raid saw scores of Palestinians detained and injured, and resulted in the widespread destruction of public and private properties.

Also on Monday, the Israeli army led an incursion into the town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin, witnesses told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Akin to the raid on Tubas, Israeli soldiers stormed and ransacked Palestinian homes and subjected locals to a curfew with Palestinians were also detained in the ordeal.

Foreign ministers slam settler attacks on Italian, Canadian activists

Canada and Italy have condemned Israeli settler violence on Sunday after three Italians and one Canadian were left injured following an assault in the Palestinian town of Jericho, the occupied West Bank.

The Canadian Foreign Ministry said it "strongly condemns the violent acts committed by extremist settlers and opposes any actions or talk about annexation of the Palestinian territories".

"Under international law, civilians must be protected. We also reiterate our position that Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal under international law," Ottawa added.

Italy's top diplomat Antonio Tajani said Rome is "is calling on the Israeli government to stop the settlers and prevent further violence, which does not serve the realisation of the peace plan we are all working on".

On Sunday, Israeli settlers attacked four foreign activists in the village of Ein al-Duyuk near Jericho and wounded them. The activists, who were in the village as part of a mission to protect Palestinian communities, required medical treatment from the Jericho government hospital.

Their belongings, such as passports and mobile phones, were also stolen.

Al-Aqsa Mosque raided, Palestinians arrested en masse

In occupied East Jerusalem, extremist settlers once again stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound under the protection of Israeli authorities.

The settlers carried out religious prayers and tours of the Muslim holy site in a deliberate provocation against Palestinians and their places of worship.

Additionally, Israeli forces also conducted a mass arrest campaign of Palestinians on Monday, detaining at least 44 from the Bethlehem villages of Beit Fajjar and al-Ubeidiya, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Those arrested were interrogated on the spot and subsequently released, security sources said.

Eleven Palestinians from the villages of Al-Lubban al-Gharbi and Rantis, northwest of Ramallah, were also arrested on Monday morning, as well as three from Nablus and one from Sa’ir in the Hebron governorate.

Those detained in Ramallah were mostly former prisoners, the Palestinian news agency said.

This comes after the Israeli army carried out the mass detention of Palestinians over the weekend, arresting at least 42, mostly from the Salfit region.

Israeli forces have intensified their occupation and assault in the West Bank following the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip.

Since then, at least 1,030 Palestinians in the occupied territory have been killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers, while thousands more have been arrested.