Israeli forces arrested seven Palestinians and assaulted others on Wednesday during raids across the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian sources.
The Palestinian Prisoner Society said Israeli forces arrested three Palestinians in Jenin province, including a woman and a man with a disability resulting from a previous Israeli gunshot wound, after raiding their homes.
In Qalqilya province, Israeli forces arrested a Palestinian man in Azzun, while another young Palestinian was arrested in the Dheisheh refugee camp south of Bethlehem.
Israeli forces also arrested two Palestinians in Hebron province, in Adh-Dhahiriya and the Al-Fawwar refugee camp. Local sources said soldiers assaulted both men during the arrests.
Raids continue across occupied West Bank
Israeli forces also raided Beit Ummar in Hebron, searched homes and assaulted Palestinians, according to local sources. They closed an iron gate between the Al-Arroub refugee camp and Beit Ummar, preventing Palestinians from using the route.
The Jerusalem Governorate said Israeli forces also closed the main Bir Nabala road northwest of occupied East Jerusalem and raided the homes of two former Palestinian prisoners in the Silwan neighbourhood.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed it in a move not recognised by most of the international community.
The occupied West Bank has seen a steady escalation in Israeli raids and attacks by illegal Israeli settlers against Palestinians since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023.
UNRWA centre seized in occupied East Jerusalem
Meanwhile, Israeli forces reinforced their presence at the UNRWA Qalandiya Training Centre in occupied East Jerusalem, a day after seizing the facility, according to the Jerusalem Governorate.
The governorate said soldiers rotated and reinforced their deployment at the centre overnight and early on Wednesday.
Israeli forces evacuated UNRWA staff from the compound on Tuesday, seized the facility and raised the Israeli flag in its courtyard.
Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir took part in Tuesday’s operation and said there was “no place for the agency in Jerusalem and Israel”.
UNRWA has warned for months of an Israeli plan targeting the centre, which provides vocational training to hundreds of Palestinian students. The agency said implementing the municipal plan would require demolishing most of the existing facility.
Established in 1952 as UNRWA’s first centre in Palestine, the institute served about 270 students across 16 vocational specialities and graduated between 250 and 300 students annually.
The seizure of the UNRWA centre has drawn condemnation from Palestinian and international officials. UNRWA said Israeli forces forcibly entered the facility and stressed that it considers the centre to be in occupied East Jerusalem and protected by UN privileges and immunities.
