West Bank confrontations as Israeli forces make arrests

Middle East Monitor  /  March 28, 2023

Confrontations have taken place between Israeli occupation forces and Palestinians as troops made a number of arrests in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem overnight. Fighting also took place in Jenin. Those arrested are accused of taking part in acts of popular resistance against the occupation forces and illegal Jewish settlers.

The raids were concentrated in the governorates of Hebron/Al-Khalil, Nablus, Jenin and Bethlehem. Dozens of homes were broken into and belongings were confiscated. Some residents faced questions for many hours.

Two of the Palestinians arrested were freed prisoners, Ammar Jawabreh and Wael al-Badawi. Their homes in Al-Aroub camp, north of Hebron, were stormed into by Israeli occupation forces. They also arrested Ismail al-Hawamdeh from Al-Samou’, south of Hebron, after raiding his house and confiscating the few belongings that he had.

When the occupation forces stormed another house in Al-Aroub, they arrested a young man while others threw stones at the armoured vehicles used by the troops.

Fighting also erupted between a group of Palestinians and the occupation forces at the Salem checkpoint, west of Jenin. There were no reports of casualties.

In the Jerusalem governorate, the occupation forces raided the family home of Palestinian boy Muhammad al-Zaliani in Shuafat camp. They took measurements of the house in preparation for it to be demolished later. According to the Israeli authorities, the boy tried to carry out a stabbing attack at the Shuafat checkpoint some months ago, causing confusion among the forces stationed there which resulted in a Border Police officer killing a security guard.