Israel Detains Several Palestinians, Seizes More Land across West Bank

January 8, 2026 News
Israeli bulldozers demolish residential homes in Nablus, occupied West Bank. (Photo: video grab, via social media)

Nearly 20 Palestinian families were also forcibly displaced from the northern part of the Al-Auja Bedouin community, north of Jericho.

Israeli occupation forces launched a large-scale arrest campaign in the early hours of Thursday morning, raiding homes across the occupied West Bank, assaulting several Palestinians and destroying property, the Quds News Network (QNN) reported.

The occupation forces arrested freed prisoner Mona Barghouti and her son, Hamam, after raiding their home in the village of Aboud, northwest of Ramallah. Two children, Ismail Issa and Yousef al-Qeeq were detained after Israeli troops stormed the al-Arroub refugee camp in Hebron (al-Khalil) at dawn.

The army also raided a house in the town of Beit Iba, west of Nablus, and arrested journalist Marwan Harzallah. In Nablus, the occupation forces arrested a young man, Zafer Abu Hawila, after raiding his family’s house. They also searched a commercial establishment that Abu Haliwa owns in the Qaryoun neighborhood of the Old City.

The occupation forces fired stun grenades and tear gas canisters in the vicinity of Martyrs’ Square and raided the Al-Ta’awun neighborhood in the city.

Mother and Son Detained

In Tulkarm, in the northern West Bank, Israeli occupation forces arrested Adli Fakhras al-Akhras and his son, Yazan, after raiding their home. Adli is the father of Elias al-Akhras, who was killed during an armed clash with Israeli forces in the Nur Shams refugee camp east of the city, the report stated.

The forces also arrested Hussam Ahmad Nassif after raiding his home in the southern part of the city, and Alaa Abdel Latif after raiding his home in the town of Far’un, southeast of Tulkarm.

In the southern West Bank, Israeli forces raided the al-Arroub refugee camp north of Hebron, conducting a campaign of raids on residents’ homes before arresting three young men: Ismail Rushdi, Youssef al-Qeeq, and Hisham al-Titi. Several residents were subjected to harassment and field interrogations, the report stated.

In Jenin, in the northern West Bank, Israeli forces re-arrested released prisoner Shadi Abu Suweis after raiding his family’s home in the village of Rummanah, west of the city. Israeli forces also fired stun grenades during a raid on the village of Sanur, southeast of Jenin, while simultaneously conducting raids and arrests.

Israeli forces also stormed the town of Habla, south of Qalqilya in the northern occupied West Bank, and raided a house, though no arrests were reported.

In occupied Jerusalem, clashes erupted between Israeli forces and Palestinian youths throwing stones at Israeli military vehicles during a raid on the town of Kafr Aqab, north of the city, the report stated.

Families Forcibly Displaced

Nearly 20 Palestinian families were forcibly displaced from the northern part of the Al-Auja Bedouin community, north of Jericho, on Thursday, due to escalating and repeated attacks and direct threats from illegal Israeli Jewish settlers, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

Hassan Mleihat, the general supervisor of the Al-Baydar Human Rights Organization, told WAFA that the displaced families belong to the Al-Amrain clan of the Ka’abneh tribe. They were forced to leave their homes over safety concerns, due to the lack of any protection, as well as “the ongoing policy of pressure and intimidation aimed at emptying the area of ​​its original inhabitants.”

Israel Issues Tender to Build 3,401 Illegal Settler Homes in Occupied East Jerusalem

Mleihat stressed that what is happening in the Al-Auja community is part of a systematic policy of forced displacement targeting Bedouin communities in the Jordan Valley, the report stated. This, he said, constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law and human rights.

Journalists Teargassed, Homes Demolished

Several Palestinian journalists suffered from tear gas inhalation on Thursday while covering home demolition operations carried out by Israeli military bulldozers in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, according to WAFA.

Israeli occupation forces earlier demolished two homes in the Upper Ta’awun area of ​​Nablus, belonging to Ashraf Khattab and Laith Nael al-Abed.

The report cited sources as saying that the occupation forces fired large quantities of tear gas canisters at journalists in the area.

Land Seized

Israeli occupation forces also seized nearly 140 dunams of Palestinian land in the village of Fandaqumiya, south of Jenin, WAFA reported.

The head of the Fandaqumiya village council, Ghassan Qarariya, told WAFA that newly seized land adds to a previous decision to confiscate 311 dunums, bringing the total area confiscated to around 450 dunums.

A Village Erased: Yanoun’s Families Forced Out after Years of Pressure

Earlier on Thursday, a group of illegal settlers erected mobile homes between the lands of Fandaqumiya and Burqa, south of Jenin, the report stated.

Israeli forces and illegal settlers have killed at least 1,103 Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, injured nearly 11,000, and detained around 21,000 since October 2023, according to Palestinian figures cited by the Anadolu news agency.

In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

(QNN, WAFA, Anadolu, PC)

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