Israeli forces carry out raids as settlers continue rampage across occupied West Bank

Israeli forces carried out raids on Palestinian towns in the occupied West Bank early on Saturday, as Israeli settlers continued their attacks on Palestinians and their property.

At least 14 Palestinians were detained early on Saturday in Nablus and Salfit, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

Among those arrested was Ultra Palestine journalist and editor Mujahid Bani Mufleh.

"A large force of the occupation army raided our home in Beita at around 3:30 a.m. without warning or knocking on the door. We found them inside the house," his wife, Nuha al-Sharafa, told The New Arab's Arabic-language sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

“The soldiers asked about my husband, Mujahid, and demanded his ID card. When they didn’t find it quickly, they started breaking into his office where he works from home. They then demanded his laptop, forced him to unlock it, and began taking photos of his social media pages."

Bani Mufleh's family have expressed concern for his welfare, particularly as he suffers from diabetes.

On Friday evening, Israeli settlers carried out a series of attacks, including expelling farmers from their lands at gunpoint, destroying homes and bulldozing land.

Activist Osama Makhamreh told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that settlers demolished an agricultural facility, bulldozed land, and attacked residents' homes and agricultural fields in the Khallet al-Farra area west of the city of Yatta.

Settlers also attacked a house, smashing its windows and stealing furniture, equipment and cell phones in the Akhlaal al-Hummus area, southeast of Yatta.

Others stole several sheep from the village of Arab al-Malihat, northwest of Jericho Hassan Malihat, general supervisor of the al-Baydar Organisation for the Defence of Bedouin Rights, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

In the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah, residents who attempted to stop a settler raid were fired on by Israeli forces. One Palestinian youth was shot and wounded with a rubber bullet.

In Ya'bad, a Palestinian youth was shot by an Israeli soldier in a watchtower. Israeli forces later prevented ambulances from attending to him, Wafa reported.

The spike in violence by Israeli settlers has drawn international condemnation in recent days, including from the European Union, which urged accountability for the attacks.

Israeli forces and settlers have long worked in tandem to intimidate Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank, with the eventual aim of forcing them to abandon their homes.