Jerusalem: Israeli forces raided the Balata refugee camp east of Nablus and demolished a residential building south of Bethlehem, displacing three Palestinian families.
According to Anadolu Agency, Israeli military patrols entered the Balata camp and nearby neighborhoods, with infantry forces deploying along Al-Madaris Street within the camp. During the raid, several homes were searched, though there was no immediate information on any arrests or clashes.
In a separate incident, Israeli forces demolished a three-story residential building in Al-Ma'sara village, south of Bethlehem, citing unlicensed construction as the reason. This demolition displaced three Palestinian families and occurred in Area C, which is under full Israeli control as per the 1995 Oslo II agreement. Area C comprises about 60% of the occupied West Bank.
During the first half of 2026, Israel executed 341 demolitions, destroying 740 structures, affecting 923 Palestinians, and issuing 254 demolition or stop-work notices, as reported by the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission.
Haaretz military analyst Amos Harel noted that Israeli forces and police have lost control of the West Bank in recent months. He stated that occupiers, with support from government ministers and Knesset members, are seizing more land in Area B. Occupiers are establishing farms and outposts, systematically removing Palestinian communities from their land. Harel added that the army and police often overlook these actions, and on several occasions, soldiers and officers have cooperated with occupier attacks.
Israeli forces regularly conduct raids, arrests, and searches across West Bank cities, towns, and refugee camps, alongside occupier attacks and demolitions of Palestinian structures. Since the beginning of Israel's military actions in Gaza on October 8, 2023, there has been an escalation in West Bank violence, including killings, arrests, home demolitions, mosque arsons, land razing, forced displacement, and settlement expansion.
Palestinians have expressed concerns that these actions are paving the way for the formal annexation of the West Bank, which could undermine the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state in line with UN resolutions.