Israeli Forces Conduct Raids Across Occupied West Bank

(MENAFN) Israeli troops destroyed approximately 200 long-established grapevines on Monday in the Bethlehem governorate, while also carrying out incursions into multiple towns and rural communities throughout the occupied West Bank.

According to an official Palestinian news agency, Israeli units deployed bulldozers to flatten cultivated land in the town of al-Khader, located south of Bethlehem, tearing out nearly 200 fully grown grapevines in the process.

Deputy Mayor Husni Issa explained that the land-clearing operation occurred in the Um Rukba area, situated to the south of the town, the news agency reported.

In unrelated events, Israeli soldiers stormed a Palestinian residence in the town of Hizma, northeast of occupied East Jerusalem, and transformed the property into a military outpost, the agency said.

Troops were stationed across the town, forcibly entered the home, compelled the family to leave, and then used the building as a military position as part of continuing activities in the area, the news agency added.

The agency also stated that Israeli forces moved into the villages of Kafr Malik and Barqa, located northeast and east of Ramallah, without any recorded arrests or residential raids.

Meanwhile, in the southern West Bank, eyewitnesses said Israeli soldiers entered the town of al-Dhahiriya in the Hebron governorate, established a checkpoint, inspected Palestinian vehicles, and ordered some young men out of their cars for physical searches.

Israeli military actions in the West Bank have escalated since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, involving fatalities, destruction of homes, forced displacement of Palestinians, and the expansion of settlements.

Palestinians contend that this surge is intended to prepare the ground for Israel’s annexation of the West Bank, a move they say would effectively eliminate the possibility of a "two-state solution" outlined in United Nations resolutions.

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