Israeli forces have arrested dozens of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank following a shooting that killed four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers.
The arrests took place on Saturday morning in the village of Tal, southwest of Nablus, where the shooting occurred on Friday. Nearly 50 Palestinians were reportedly arrested as Israeli forces raided about 70 homes in the area.
According to a report by Al Jazeera, the arrests formed part of what the Israeli military described as an “extensive” operation launched in response to the attack. Footage released by Quds News Network showed two blindfolded men being led away by Israeli soldiers.
On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered a “wide scale military operation” across Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank following an attack near the illegal Havat Gilad settlement.
The attack reportedly killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three others.
Meanwhile, sources and witnesses said Israeli settlers attacked several Palestinian communities in the Nablus Governorate, setting fire to Palestinian homes and other property.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said at least 87 Palestinians had been killed by Israelis in attacks across the West Bank since the beginning of the year, including 21 allegedly killed by Israeli settlers.
Critics have accused Israeli authorities of failing to take sufficient action against settler violence, amid continuing international criticism of Israel’s military operations in Gaza and the policies of far right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
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