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Islamic Jihad leader assassinated in West Bank as Israeli minister Ben-Gvir storms Al-Aqsa compound
Israeli special forces assassinated a Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) leader in the occupied West Bank overnight, as military operations continue across the territory.
Rayeq Abdulrahman Basharat, a PIJ commander and former prisoner, was killed in the town of Tammun, south of Tubas. His body was reportedly seized by Israeli forces.
Following the killing, troops raided several homes in Tammun, arresting eight Palestinians. Among them was Murad Abu Hasib, described by Israel as a "wanted" individual, who was wounded during what appeared to be an exchange of fire. Another detainee, Abdullah Mahmoud Bani Odeh, was also injured.
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that one of its ambulance officers was injured by shrapnel from live Israeli bullets while attempting to evacuate a wounded person in Tammun.
Elsewhere in the West Bank, Israeli forces withdrew from Nablus after a 28-hour raid that left at least two Palestinians dead and more than 80 injured.
The army had besieged the Old City, forcing institutions to close while raiding hundreds of homes in search of "wanted individuals". A curfew was imposed until Wednesday morning, as armed clashes erupted between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters.
Since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023, the occupied West Bank has seen a sharp increase in military raids that have killed hundreds of Palestinians. The current wave of violence began in January, when Israel launched "Operation Iron Wall" in Jenin. The operation has since spread to other towns and refugee camps across the northern West Bank.
Israel has demolished homes, flattened infrastructure, and carried out mass arrests in what many Palestinians view as an attempt to make these communities uninhabitable.
On Wednesday, Israeli soldiers demolished one home and 12 structures in the Ramallah and Salfit governorates, claiming they lacked proper building permits. Palestinians say such permits are nearly impossible to obtain, even as Israeli settlements, deemed illegal under international law, continue to expand.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club reported that 150 Palestinians were arrested in the West Bank over the past week. While some were released after a few hours or days, others remain in custody.
Ben-Gvir storms Al-Aqsa
Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound once again on Wednesday, accompanied by police and members of his Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party.
Jerusalem’s Islamic Waqf, which administers the site, said in a statement that Ben-Gvir entered the mosque courtyards under heavy police escort and without prior notice.
Ben-Gvir, a West Bank settler and extremist figure, has repeatedly stormed Al-Aqsa in recent weeks in what Palestinians and Jordanian authorities say is a deliberate attempt to upend the long-standing status quo that bans non-Muslim worship at the site.
He has also led settler groups who enter the compound and perform rituals, in violation of existing arrangements. Some Jewish extremists believe Al-Aqsa is built on the ruins of a Jewish temple; a belief that lacks archaeological and historical evidence.