Israeli forces take over homes, impose curfew on West Bank’s Qabatiya

On the second day of a massive military operation ordered by Israel’s defense minister, Israeli forces made numerous arrests and forced dozens of families from their homes in the town of Qabatiya in the occupied West Bank.

Local sources told Al Jazeera that Israeli forces secluded the entrances to Qabatiya while questioning and arraigning dozens of residents on Saturday. According to the Palestinian Wafa news agency, they displaced their occupants by turning a number of homes into military interrogation centers.

According to Israeli Army Radio, the town is “full curfew-free.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued an order to “act forcefully” against the village of Qabatiya, where he claims a Palestinian who is accused of waging a stabbing and car-ramming attack in northern Israel is alleged to have been.

Israel’s military said in a statement on Friday that it had sent troops from various divisions to Qabatiya, along with border patrol agents, and members of the Shin Bet security service. According to the statement, authorities had gone inside the suspect’s home and were preparing to destroy it.

Palestinians who are accused of attacking Israelis have long been condemned by human rights organizations for their ongoing use of demolition of their homes.

Israel’s military alleged that it would “work to arrest wanted individuals and locate weapons” and “scan additional locations in the village.”

One resident told Al Jazeera, “There is a sense of fear in the town.” Israeli threats and incitement are present.

According to Wafa, the Israeli military operations on Saturday extended to other areas of the occupied West Bank, including several villages close to Ramallah and Hebron. According to the news agency, Israeli forces attacked and detained eight people near Hebron in Dura, Abda, and Imreish.

During Israel’s genocidal war against Gaza, Israeli military incursions and attacks across the occupied West Bank have occurred almost daily.

Nearly 21, 000 Palestinians have been taken into custody by Israeli authorities as of October 7, 2023. More than a third of the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons were unarmed as of December 1; approximately 9,300 were there.