Israeli forces detained scores of Palestinians in overnight raids across the West Bank on Wednesday, as settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque under police protection.

Israeli occupation forces carried out a series of overnight and early-morning raids across the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, detaining scores of Palestinians and triggering confrontations in several towns, while illegal Israeli Jewish settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound under police protection.

Raids were reported from Tulkarm and Qalqilya in the north to Hebron (Al-Khalil) in the south. 

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In the Hebron area, local sources said Israeli forces arrested 20 Palestinians during a raid on the village of Tabqa, south of Dura.

In the northern West Bank, the Israeli military stormed neighborhoods in Qalqilya, arresting at least two people. Raids also targeted the nearby towns of Azzun and Hajja. In Tulkarm, a young man was arrested during a raid on the town of Anabta, according to Palestinian sources.

Clashes broke out in Qaryut, south of Nablus, following a military incursion. Meanwhile, in Jenin, Israeli forces arrested a youth from the village of Deir Abu Daif.

Military raids also continued in the central West Bank, with Israeli forces storming the Jalazone refugee camp near Al-Bireh.

In a display of disrespect for the sanctity of the holy site, Israeli Jewish settlers provocatively sing and dance at the Gate of the Chain, one of the main gates of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem, the third holiest site for Muslims worldwide. pic.twitter.com/rPxOpVEWHI

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) April 29, 2025

Simultaneously, illegal Israeli Jewish settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem under heavy protection from Israeli police. 

According to Al-Jazeera, the Jerusalem Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Council has warned of increasing settler incursions into the compound, describing the scale and frequency of the violations as unprecedented. 

The Jerusalem Endowments Authority estimated that tens of thousands of settlers have entered the mosque compound in recent days.

Elsewhere, settlers also stormed the eastern part of Hizma town, northeast of Jerusalem. These attacks, often carried out with military backing, have involved armed assaults, the destruction of agricultural land, and incursions into Palestinian villages and towns.

The escalation in the occupied West Bank comes in parallel with Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.

 Since the beginning of the year, Israeli forces have intensified their operations in the West Bank, deploying tanks, occupying refugee camps in the north, and implementing widespread demolition and displacement campaigns. 

According to local reports, these operations have resulted in the killing of approximately 960 Palestinians, the injury of 7,000, and the detention of over 16,000 people. Tens of thousands have also been displaced.

(PC, AJA)