Palestinian Killed Israeli Forces in West Bank

A Palestinian man was killed on Thursday in an exchange of fire with Israeli forces near the Hermesh settlement, located between Tulkarm and Jenin in the northern West Bank.

This incident is part of a broader military escalation marked by sustained raids, arrests, and home demolitions, particularly in northern refugee camps such as Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams.

Israeli military sources claimed the Palestinian arrived by vehicle at the Hermesh checkpoint and opened fire on soldiers, who responded and neutralized him. No injuries were reported among the Israeli forces.

The West Bank has witnessed a sharp increase in violence, with the north and south regions facing frequent incursions, detentions, and infrastructure destruction. According to Palestinian reports, over 50,000 refugees have been forcibly displaced in the past five months, as systematic operations aim to alter the demographic and urban structure of refugee camps and erase their identity.

In the southern West Bank city of Hebron, Israeli troops arrested two brothers, Islam and Amir Sabri Masalma, after raiding their home in the town of Beit Awwa. Their home was searched and vandalized before they were taken to an undisclosed location, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club.

In Qalqilya, Israeli forces entered the city from the south, deploying in the Nazal neighborhood and conducting field interrogations and searches of young Palestinian men. In Bethlehem, troops continued a wave of arrests, detaining 45-year-old Sherine Khaled Hamamrah from the village of Husan. She is the sister of Azedine Hamamrah, a Palestinian prisoner serving a life sentence.

Meanwhile, Israeli authorities demolished a tourist facility and a residential apartment in the village of Azzaba Salman south of Qalqilya, citing construction in Area C zones under full Israeli control.