Israeli occupation forces (IOF) launched widespread raids and arrests across the West Bank early Friday, alongside a surge in violent attacks by armed settlers targeting Palestinian communities and property.
Israeli occupation forces continue their wide-scale demolition campaign in Nur Shams refugee camp, east of Tulkarm, as part of the ongoing offensive in the camp since January 2025 that has seen almost the entire population forcibly removed from their homes. pic.twitter.com/URUxbEohpD
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) January 2, 2026
In the al-Khalil (Hebron) district, IOF troops stormed the town of Halhoul, firing sound grenades and detaining several residents. Raids also targeted Dura city, south of al-Khalil, with soldiers breaking into multiple homes. Further north, the IOF invaded the town of Anabta, east of Tulkarem. Before withdrawing from Kafr al-Labad, also east of Tulkarem, forces detonated an explosive device. The army continued its demolition of Palestinian homes in the Nur Shams refugee camp.
Israeli occupation forces storm a Palestinian home during an incursion into the town of Kafr Al-Labad, east of Tulkarm, the occupied West Bank. pic.twitter.com/Yt0XeROZl4
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) January 2, 2026
A military checkpoint was erected at the entrance to Hajja, east of Qalqilya. In Occupied Jerusalem, occupied forces arrested a former prisoner from the town of Biddu. The preceding night, the IOF seized a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance at the entrance to Khalil Suleiman Hospital in Jenin, obstructing medical transport.
Settler Violence and Land Seizure
In parallel, armed settler attacks intensified. On Thursday evening in Masafer Yatta, south of al-Khalil, settlers from the Havat Ma’on settlement and Eschar Aman outpost demolished two agricultural structures belonging to local residents, looting their contents. In the town of Beit Ummar, settlers assaulted residents and prevented them from accessing their land.
Israeli bulldozers are flattening Palestinian land near the town of Turmus Ayya, northeast of Ramallah, to clear space for the construction and expansion of colonial settlements. pic.twitter.com/HSKpn13y1N
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) January 2, 2026
This violence accompanies ongoing land confiscation. Settlers have reportedly seized territory in Beit Ummar, installed a mobile home, and brought livestock, raising fears of a new settlement outpost that would annex hundreds of dunums of Palestinian land.
Israeli settlers demolish and steal Palestinian agricultural structures near Khirbet Al-Tuba in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron. pic.twitter.com/6xxmbEbM5R
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) January 1, 2026
The coordinated military and settler actions represent a significant escalation, compounding pressures on Palestinian communities across the occupied territory.
Source: Palestinian media (translated and edited by Al-Manar)