West Bank arrests widen after deadly Tal shooting

Israeli forces expanded West Bank arrests on Saturday, detaining nearly 50 Palestinians in the village of Tal after a shooting there killed four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers, Al Jazeera reported. The operation matters because it followed settler attacks reported in Palestinian communities around Nablus and triggered wider raids across the occupied West Bank.

According to Al Jazeera, Israeli forces raided about 70 homes in Tal, southwest of Nablus, on Saturday morning. Quds News Network footage showed two blindfolded men being taken away by Israeli soldiers, Al Jazeera reported.

Israel’s military described the arrests as part of an “extensive” operation after Friday’s shooting. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered what they called a “wide-scale military operation” in Palestinian villages across the occupied West Bank after an attack near the Havat Gilad settlement killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three others, according to Al Jazeera.

Why is Israel making West Bank arrests?

Israel says the raids are a response to the deadly shooting near Havat Gilad, which Al Jazeera describes as an illegal settlement. Palestinians and Israelis dispute the sequence of events in Tal, where footage cited by Al Jazeera showed armed settlers confronting Palestinians before a Palestinian man seized a settler’s gun and fatally shot him in what appeared to be self-defence; Israeli soldiers then killed the Palestinian, and three other Palestinians were also killed.

Sources and witnesses told Al Jazeera that Israeli settlers attacked several Palestinian communities in the Nablus governorate and set fire to Palestinian homes and property. The Palestinian Health Ministry says at least 87 Palestinians have been killed by Israelis in the West Bank since the start of the year, including 21 killed by settlers, according to Al Jazeera.

Funerals for the four Palestinians killed in Tal were held overnight, Al Jazeera reported. Residents said Israeli authorities barred daytime funerals and allowed only a limited number of Palestinians to attend, according to the report.

Raids reported beyond Tal

Israeli forces also made arrests in Jenin and in towns and villages across the governorate, Al Jazeera reported. Troops raided multiple homes and deployed in large numbers, according to the same report.

In the northeast, Israeli forces raided Tubas and the Far’a refugee camp, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. Wafa said soldiers arrived in Tubas in a large convoy, spread through several neighbourhoods and searched homes for about three hours before moving toward Far’a.

Other raids were reported in Far’ata, east of Qalqilya, where at least eight Palestinians were injured, according to Al Mayadeen English. Al Jazeera also reported raids at the Aqbat Jabr refugee camp in Jericho and in Kobar, in the Ramallah and el-Bireh Governorate.

Rights officials call for action

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, described attacks on Palestinian civilians in the West Bank as “pogroms” in a post on X and called for an arms embargo and a halt to trade with Israel. She accused Israeli civilians and the army of “joining forces” in the attacks, according to Al Jazeera.

Ubai Al Aboudi, a rights activist in Ramallah, told Al Jazeera that settler attacks on Palestinian villages were systematic and carried out with impunity. Human Rights Watch’s Sarah Sanbar said the Israeli government needed to stop settler reprisals and escalating military action after failing to prevent attacks on Tal village.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.