Description

Photos:
Scenes in Tulkarem. Published by IMEMC News

Israeli soldiers detain Palestinian men during a raid following the reported explosion of an Israeli military vehicle near a checkpoint west of Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank on Thursday. Credit: Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP. Published by Haaretz
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by IMEMC News
Sept 12, 2025

Israeli forces carried out, on Thursday, a massive abduction campaign against a large number of Palestinian young men and children after besieging the city of Tulkarem, in the northwestern part of the occupied West Bank.

Media sources reported that following an explosion at the western entrance of the city, which lightly wounded two soldiers, Israeli forces stormed the city, closed its southern and eastern entrances, and imposed a tight blockade.

Quds Press reported that the occupation army abducted more than 1,000 Palestinians, including children, in a large-scale campaign lasting more than ten hours.

The same source added that soldiers stormed the city center, invaded shops and cafés, abducting everyone inside, in addition to abducting and assaulting people on the street and in their vehicles, and forcing them to march toward the “Nitzanei Oz” military roadblock to the west.

Quds Press reported that military reinforcements, including a bulldozer, were dispatched to the city, while soldiers stormed citizens’ homes, including that of the journalist, Alaa Al-Jarad, who was abducted after occupation forces assaulted he and his wife.

The army opened heavy fire with live ammunition toward citizens and vehicles in the western neighborhood, and seized several surveillance cameras.

According to Israeli reports, an explosive device was detonated near the “Nitzanei Oz” roadblock, damaging a military vehicle and mildly injuring two soldiers.

The Arab 48 News website quoted the Al-Quds Brigades – Tulkarem Battalion together with the Al-Qassam Brigades, carried out the resistance operation.

According to Israeli Army Radio, the event was “exceptional compared to recent events,” adding that Palestinian resistance operations have been absent for at least five months.

Israeli forces have maintained a tight siege against the Tulkarem refugee camp and the Nur Shams refugee camp since January of 2025.

For its part, the Palestinian National Council (PNC) issued a statement denouncing the Israeli aggression against the city, calling it a crime against humanity, adding that the occupation continues to carry out genocide and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip.

The statement called for international intervention in holding Israel accountable for its actions before the International Criminal Court (ICC), urging the United Nations and the international community to fulfil their duty to put an end to Israel’s impunity.
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IDF Arrests Dozens in Tulkarm After Attack Wounds Two Soldiers

by Matan Golan and Bar Peleg for Haaretz
06:01 PM • September 11th 2025 IDT

The Israeli Defense Forces arrested dozens of Palestinians on Thursday in the West Bank city of Tulkarm following an attack that lightly wounded two soldiers, the army said.

The soldiers had been traveling in a "Panther" military vehicle along the West Bank barrier when an explosive device detonated, wounding them. The soldiers' families were notified after they were evacuated to a hospital.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad announced they had carried out the attack.

In a statement after the bombing, the IDF said it sent forces to Tulkarm. Video footage showed dozens of men marching in a line on the street while being led by soldiers and military vehicles.

"It looks like a collective punishment and a kind of show of force," a Tulkarm resident told Haaretz. Military forces raided homes and shops, he said.

Sources in the Palestinian Authority told Haaretz that since Oct. 7, Israel has destroyed infrastructure belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad and has arrested thousands of Palestinians without trial.

The Palestinian Authority also cracks down on the groups, the sources said, but the IDF uses suspected meetings as an excuse for repression. The operations led by Israel and the Palestinian Authority have led to clashes with militants.

"There definitely isn't an organized and orderly infrastructure of all [militant] factions," a Palestinian security source told Haaretz. "But it's obvious that the incidents in the West Bank, including the repeated attacks by the settlers and [IDF policy], are only fueling the fire in the area."

The security source added: "What's more, the status of the PA and trust in it are only being eroded."

Earlier this week, six Israelis were killed in a Hamas-ordered shooting attack in Jerusalem, and four Israeli Armored Corps soldiers were killed in northern Gaza by an explosive device placed by Hamas.

The Tulkarm area witnessed large-scale military intervention over the past year, including the mass demolition of homes and infrastructure at the Tulkarm refugee camp.

Residents reported that about 20 soldiers recently entered a neighborhood in eastern Tulkarm, ordering its evacuation within two hours, affecting some 40 families.

Soldiers shouted at residents and destroyed the belongings of those who resisted, giving no information about how long the evacuation would last, only declaring the area a military zone.

Since October 7, 2023, the names of 904 fallen IDF soldiers have been released, including 459 killed in Gaza. Since Israel broke the cease-fire with Hamas in March, 54 soldiers have been killed in the Strip, including a Border Guard commando and an operator of engineering equipment from the Defense Ministry.