Israeli forces storm northern West Bank town as settlers continue assaults

Israeli forces stormed a in the northern West Bank on Friday following an attack in northern Israel which left two people dead, as the occupied territory saw a wave of violent Israeli settler attacks.

Israeli forces raided the town of Qabatiya in the northern West Bank, following a stabbing and vehicle-ramming attack in the Beit Shean and Afula areas that killed a man and a woman.

The Israeli police have said the attacker was a 34-year-old Palestinian resident of Qabatiya who was taken to hospital after being shot.

According to Israeli reports, he had entered Israel illegally several days ago.

Citing local sources, The New Arab’s sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, said the Israeli military entered Qabatiya from multiple directions and deployed reinforcements, cutting off all entrances into the town.

Residents said a military bulldozer and additional troops were brought into the town, backed by a helicopter and reconnaissance aircraft, as part of the operation.

The family home of Ahmed Abu al-Rab – the suspect behind Friday’s attack – was raided. His father was reportedly arrested and taken away to an undisclosed location.

Defence Minister Israel Katz had threatened a violent crackdown on Qabatiya following the attack.

Continued settler attacks

Separately, extremist Israeli settlers carried out a series of attacks in several locations across the West Bank on Friday, including the villages of Deir Dibwan and Rumman east of Ramallah, where they set fire to a tractor.

The attacks were accompanied by physical assaults that resulted in several injuries among Palestinians.

Settler attacks were also reported in the villages of Sinjil and Jiljilya north of Ramallah, and Beita south of Nablus.

A settler also assaulted a family that were herding livestock near their home in Attara, north of Ramallah, while settlers reportedly attacked mushroom pickers near Deir Istiya in the Salfit governorate.

Israeli soldiers also used tear gas and live ammunition to break up a march in Beit Lid, as Palestinians protested an Israeli government decision to "legalise" an Israeli settlement outpost – a settlement in the West Bank not officially recognised by Israeli authorities.

All Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law.

Israeli forces also prevented a farmer in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, from ploughing his land for the third consecutive day, having declared the area a closed military zone.

Israeli authorities also issued a decision to seize about 150 dunams (around 37 acres) of agricultural land east of Al-Mughayyir village, which was reportedly part of private Palestinian farmland.

In a separate case, local sources said Israeli forces notified the family of Imran al-Atrash that their home in Hebron would be demolished.

Atrash died more than six weeks ago, and Israel says he was behind an attack north of the city.

Israeli authorities have long demolished the family homes of Palestinian attackers, a practice slammed by rights groups as collective punishment.

Settler violence has risen in recent years, according to the United Nations, and October was the worst month since it began recording such incidents in 2006, with 264 attacks that caused casualties or property damage.

The violence has surged since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023. Since then, Israeli troops and settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to Palestinian figures.