Seven Palestinians injured as Israeli troops storms West Bank village

Seven Palestinians were injured on Monday morning as Israeli forces stormed the village of Al-Mughayir east of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank and destroyed a public park.

Kazim Al-Haj Mohamed, a local activist, told The New Arab’s Arabic-language sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that Israeli forces entered from the east of the village and deployed snipers on rooftops.

They then demolished the Shuhadaa public park, which was still under construction, claiming that it was in Area C of the West Bank and near a settler road.

Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, Area C, which covers over 60% of the West Bank, is under full Israeli security and civilian control.

Palestinians have security and civilian control over Area A while Area B is under Palestinian civilian control and Israeli security control.

Al-Haj Mohamed said that the park was being constructed to provide recreation for the villagers, adding that a number of trees had been planted and some facilities were installed.

"The Israelis came here in the morning and razed the park. Since then, we got no space to play other than the street," says this Palestinian boy.

This morning, an Israeli army force stormed the village of Al-Mughayir, near Ramallah, and demolished a public park that served as a… pic.twitter.com/2trm6r8yZg

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) July 31, 2023

He told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the people of the village rushed to confront the Israeli troops. Four people were injured in their legs by Israeli live bullets in the clashes, while three were injured by rubber bullets.

All the Palestinian wounded were taken to a hospital for treatment and their condition was described as stable.

Earlier on Monday morning, Israeli troops had raided Al-Mughayir and detained a young man after storming his house.

Israeli troops also stormed Jenin on Monday and arrested two people.

Since a far-right Israeli government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to power in December 2022, Israel has intensified its near-daily raids on Palestinian towns and cities in the occupied West Bank.

Over 200 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip by Israel since the beginning of the year.