Several Palestinian students suffered temporary asphyxiation from tear gas fired by Israeli forces during a military raid Thursday in the village of Al-Mughayyir, east of Ramallah in the central West Bank, local sources said.
The sources said Israeli forces, accompanied by military vehicles and bulldozers, raided the village, firing stun grenades and tear gas at the Al-Mughayyir Boys’ School while students were inside, causing several to suffocate.
The Israeli army set up a military checkpoint at the village entrance, preventing entry and exit, and simultaneously fired tear gas canisters at residents, the sources added.
In the southern West Bank, Israeli occupiers damaged trees and crops and chased away shepherds and farmers in various areas of Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, the official news agency Wafa reported.
Osama Makhameh, a local activist, said a group of armed occupiers released their livestock in the Wadi al-Rakhim area, south of Masafer Yatta, damaging and uprooting a number of olive saplings.
Israeli forces demolished agricultural structures in Za’tara town, east of Bethlehem, and the northern Jordan Valley on Thursday, coinciding with the setting up of a military checkpoint east of Bethlehem in the southern West Bank.
WAFA quoted Za’tara Mayor Muhammad Dhuwaib as saying that “Israeli forces stormed Wadi al-Ta’amra area, east of the town and closed it off, before demolishing an agricultural greenhouse belonging to Adel Ayed al-Bajali.
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WAFA added that Israeli forces also demolished a concrete water tank belonging to Malik Srour in al-Mashamis area, east of Za’tara.
Meanwhile, Israeli bulldozers demolished greenhouses and water networks near the village of Bardala in the northern Jordan Valley, according to local sources speaking to WAFA.
The Israeli forces had issued notices approximately three months ago to demolish and remove about 50 dunams (a dunam is 1,000 square meters) of agricultural greenhouses in the area.
In Bethlehem, Israeli forces set up a military checkpoint in the “Ash Ghrab” area, east of Beit Sahour, according to the same agency.
It added, citing security sources, that Israeli forces stopped and searched vehicles and checked citizens’ IDs, causing a traffic jam in the area.
About 750,000 Israeli occupiers live in 141 illegal settlements and 224 settlement outposts in the West Bank, including about 250,000 in East Jerusalem, which the United Nations considers part of the occupied Palestinian territory.
The occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem have seen a surge in Israeli attacks, including raids, arrests, shootings and the excessive use of force, alongside rising occupier assaults against Palestinians and their property.
According to the Palestinian Commission Against the Wall and Settlements, Israeli forces and occupiers carried out 1,637 attacks in April alone.
Attacks by the Israeli army and occupiers have killed at least 1,155 Palestinians, wounded about 11,750 and led to the arrest of nearly 22,000 since October 2023, according to official Palestinian figures.
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