DaysofPal- At least 24 Palestinians were wounded Tuesday when the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) stormed Ramallah and el-Bireh in the occupied West Bank, and opened fire at civilians there, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS).
Among the injured was a 12-year-old child, shot in the back near a central vegetable market, citing medical teams.
Moreover, a 71-year-old man and four others sustained injuries to the head, face, abdomen, and neck from rubber-coated steel bullets.
Five others, including two pregnant women, were treated for tear gas inhalation, where the IOF prevented rescue teams from reaching the wounded in the besieged areas.
Eyewitnesses said Israeli forces stormed a currency exchange shop between Ramallah and el-Bireh, detaining at least three Palestinians while snipers positioned themselves on rooftops.
The raid extended to the central vegetable market area, near three schools.
“This is part of the daily life of Palestinians,” said Xavier Abu Eid, describing the raid as a show of force to remind residents who is actually ruling here.
Experts say the Israeli operation reflects broader tensions in the region.
Adel Abdel Ghafar, senior fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, said the Israeli actions in
Ramallah signal a war not just with Hamas or Gaza, but with all Palestinians.
“This is all part of the collective punishment of the Palestinian people in the West Bank,” he said, adding that the raids aim in part to financially strangle residents.
Since the Israeli occupation launched its genocide on Gaza in October 2023, the West Bank has seen a surge in military and settler violence, with tens of thousands of Palestinians displaced. Ramallah has recorded the highest number of attacks, 585 incidents, followed by 479 in Nablus, according to UN data.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that at least 671 Palestinians, including 129 children, have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers across the West Bank since October 2023.
Paris-based political journalist Faten Elwan told Al Jazeera that the raid in Ramallah appeared more as a show of force over the occupied West Bank rather than a specific military operation.
“Israel is sending a clear message that Oslo is dead, that the Palestinian Authority is dead, and that there is no power on the ground but the Israeli forces and settlers,” she said.
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