Israeli forces demolished a memorial to students killed in the student movement inside Birzeit University campus, north of Ramallah, early on Monday before seizing it. The operation coincided with the arrest of three children, two young men and a woman during raids in various parts of the West Bank.
Demolition of the memorial inside Birzeit University
Local sources told the Palestinian News Agency that the forces entered the university campus accompanied by a military bulldozer, which they used to demolish the memorial before removing it from the site. They added that the forces detained a member of the university security staff during the operation. Israeli forces had previously raided Birzeit University in late September, then withdrew from the campus after a brief raid during which no injuries or arrests were recorded.
In western Nablus, the forces arrested three children after raiding the villages of Deir Sharaf and Qusin early on Monday. Local sources said they searched several homes in Deir Sharaf and arrested the children Karim Marei Mousa and Farouq Anmar Nawfal, as well as the child Omar Walid Hsiba from Qusin. In Bethlehem governorate, the forces arrested a young man from the town of Beit Fajjar, south of the city, after raiding and searching his father’s home.
Further arrests in Tammun and death of a detainee
The arrests also included a young man and a woman from the town of Tammun, south-east of Tubas governorate. According to Palestinian sources, the woman was arrested as part of pressure on her husband to surrender. A Palestinian from the town of Attil, north of Tulkarm, was killed on Sunday while being detained by Israeli soldiers at the Anab military checkpoint, east of the governorate.
Dozens of Palestinians were also injured on the same day during raids carried out by Israeli forces and settlers in several West Bank towns.
Palestinian sources say the Israeli army and settlers have escalated their operations in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since the war on the Gaza Strip began in October 2023. These operations include killings, arrests, displacement, home demolitions, land levelling and settlement expansion.
