Tensions Rise as Israeli Forces Conduct Deadly Raid in Palestinian Authority Capital
Israeli forces launched a major raid into Ramallah, the administrative capital of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, resulting in the death of a 16-year-old boy and marking the largest operation in the city for years. Palestinian sources confirmed the incident early Monday.
The raid saw a significant deployment of Israeli military vehicles into Ramallah, home to President Mahmoud Abbas’s headquarters, sparking confrontations in the Am’ari refugee camp. The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that 16-year-old Mustafa Abu Shalbak was fatally shot by Israeli forces during the incursion.
According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, the violence erupted as Israeli troops stormed the camp, engaging with local youths and firing live ammunition, which ultimately led to Abu Shalbak sustaining wounds to his neck and chest.
As of now, the Israeli military has not provided comments regarding the raid.
This incident is part of a broader surge in violence across the West Bank, coinciding with the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The region has witnessed the deaths of at least 400 Palestinians in recent clashes involving Israeli soldiers and settlers, with Israel intensifying its raids across the territories it occupied in 1967.
Further reports from witnesses indicate that Israeli forces also conducted operations in Tulkarm, damaging infrastructure by tearing up a main road during a separate raid.
Additionally, WAFA detailed an Israeli operation in Nablus, where forces demolished the home of Moaz al-Masri, accused by Israel of executing an attack that killed a British-Israeli woman and her two daughters in the West Bank this past April, was killed by Israeli forces in Nablus last May. The Palestinian Prisoners Club has reported that at least 55 Palestinians were detained by Israeli forces in a series of raids across the West Bank overnight.
