Israeli forces arrest senior Fatah officials as settlers attack West Bank

Israeli forces carried out a wave of arrests across the West Bank at dawn on Thursday, including senior Fatah officials, as settlers launched a series of attacks on Palestinian towns and villages amid ongoing military raids and a tightening siege.

Several areas witnessed violence in the early hours, with Israeli settlers setting fire to two vehicles during an attack on the town of Al-Minya, southeast of Bethlehem. Residents were also assaulted at the southern entrance to the town, though no injuries were reported.

At the same time, Israeli forces continued their fourth consecutive day of raids in villages and towns northwest of Jerusalem. Operations were focused on Qatanna, particularly its old town, where shops have been forced to close for four days, and Biddu, which saw a wide campaign of arrests.

Journalist Baha Barakat told The New Arab's Arabic edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that Israeli forces had "concentrated the operations on Thursday in the town of Qatanna, especially in the old town that witnessed the closure of commercial shops for the fourth day, in addition to the town of Biddu, which included a wide arrest campaign".

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club accused the Israeli army of "widespread abuse and field interrogations, and systematic collective punishment, where it assaulted citizens, in addition to extensive destruction and damage to homes".

The raids come in the aftermath of a shooting attack four days ago in the Ramot settlement near Jerusalem, which killed seven Israelis and wounded 14 others.

The two alleged attackers, Muthanna Naji Amro from Qubeiba and Ali Bassam Taha from Qatanna, were killed during the operation.

Further settler violence was reported in the north and centre of the West Bank. In Nablus, settlers attacked the outskirts of Burqa village, smashing car windows and targeting homes.

In Atara, north of Ramallah, settlers set fire to a vehicle and daubed racist slogans on walls, including threats that "the fire of revenge will continue", according to local sources.

Bulldozers belonging to settlers also levelled Palestinian land near Ayn al-Haramiyya, on the lands of Silwad and al-Mazra‘a al-Sharqiya, northeast of Ramallah.

Israeli forces also carried out high-profile arrests at dawn.

Fatah Revolutionary Council member Jamal Hammad and Fatah deputy secretary in Salfit, Ahmad Abdel Karim al-Deek, were detained after their homes in Kafr al-Deek were raided. The secretary of Fatah in the Salfit region, Abdel Sattar Awwad, remains in detention for an eighth day, according to journalist Ahoud al-Khafash, speaking to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

In Jenin, the mayor of Silat al-Dhahr, Abdel Fattah Abu Ali, was arrested after a raid on his home, alongside several other party officials, including Walid Kilani and his son Mohammed, Akram al-Sharaf, and Amir Youssef Hantouli.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club and the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs said in a joint statement that at least 30 Palestinians were arrested across the West Bank, including Jerusalem, between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.

"The number of arrests since the beginning of the ongoing war of extermination has exceeded 19,000," the statement added, noting this does not include thousands detained in Gaza.

Meanwhile, local sources said settlers stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque on Thursday morning under the protection of Israeli forces, conducting “provocative tours” and performing Talmudic rituals.