“Israeli” Forces Withdraw from Qabatiya After Two-Day Incursion
By Staff, Agencies
“Israeli” forces have withdrawn from the occupied West Bank city of Qabatiya following a two-day military operation that Palestinian officials described as an act of “collective punishment” carried out in the aftermath of a resistance operation.
The incursion, which ended on Saturday, targeted the northern West Bank city and caused widespread damage to civilian infrastructure, according to Palestinian media reports. Qabatiya Mayor Ahmad Zakarneh said “Israeli” troops completely sealed off the city, imposed a total curfew, blocked secondary roads with dirt barriers and bulldozed streets, effectively bringing daily life and economic activity to a halt.
During the incursion, forces raided around 50 homes, converted six into military positions, vandalized property, and occupied a local school.
Dozens of residents were detained. Zakarneh added that troops deliberately damaged power generators and cut water, electricity and telecommunications services, destroyed household contents, and sealed the family home of a Palestinian accused of carrying out a resistance operation the previous week.
With Qabatiya’s roughly 33,000 residents confined under curfew, access to farms and factories was blocked, leading to spoilage of agricultural products and significant losses to livelihoods. Jenin Governor Kamal Abu al-Rab condemned the actions, accusing the “Israeli” entity of imposing collective punishment on the civilian population.
The incursion followed a multi-stage resistance operation reportedly carried out on Friday by Ahmad Abu al-Rab, a Qabatiya resident, which resulted in the deaths of two illegal “Israeli” settlers.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office said “Israeli” authorities extended Abu Al-Rab’s detention by 11 days and transferred him, while wounded, from hospital to interrogation by Shin Bet, the entity’s internal security service. His brothers were also detained, and the entrance to the family home was sealed.
The withdrawal from Qabatiya comes amid a wider “Israeli” military campaign across the occupied West Bank. Since January, large-scale operations have targeted several refugee camps, beginning in Jenin, accompanied by extensive destruction and mass displacement. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been displaced this year, particularly in Jenin and in the northern cities of Tulkarm and Tubas.
At the same time, army-backed settler violence has escalated, with repeated attacks on Palestinian civilians, torching of farmland, land seizures and continued illegal settlement expansion. Late last month, the “Israeli” army, Shin Bet, and police announced a broad operation across the West Bank aimed at what they termed combating “terror.”
Earlier this month, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned the rise in settler violence against Palestinians and their property, calling for respect for international humanitarian and human rights law throughout the occupied territory, including East Al-Quds [“Jerusalem”]. His remarks followed reports of further settler attacks in Al-Khalil [“Hebron”] and Nablus, amid warnings from rights groups of a growing risk of ethnic cleansing.
Since October 2023, when the “Israeli” entity launched its war on Gaza, more than 1,085 Palestinians have been martyred and over 10,700 injured across the West Bank due to military and settler attacks, with nearly 21,000 detained. Against this backdrop, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine has warned that a third intifada may be approaching, citing rising Palestinian anger after decades of occupation and escalating violence.
