Israeli Raid in Jenin Amid West Bank Settler Violence

Israeli raid in Jenin

Israeli commandos detained an unnamed Palestinian during a raid in Jenin, in the West Bank, on Thursday morning. The military said it accused him of procuring and transferring weapons to a former armed network in the area. Troops from the Duvdevan Commando Unit carried out the operation, following intelligence from the Shin Bet.

The military described the detained Palestinian as a member of the former network. “The terrorist served as a key weapons dealer and acted to procure and transfer weapons to the terror network,” the IDF said. The article didn’t provide his name or independent details about the allegation.

The raid came amid reports of violence involving Palestinian motorists and settlers elsewhere in the West Bank. On Thursday night, the military said, its forces pursued a Palestinian driver after a car struck a settler near the settlement of Ateret.

Roadblock near Ateret

Israeli security officials assessed the incident as a hit-and-run, not a terror attack. An IDF preliminary investigation found that settlers from an illegal outpost in the area had disrupted traffic as they tried to block Palestinian motorists. A Palestinian driver attempting to flee the roadblock struck one of the settlers, the investigation found.

The settler suffered light injuries and was taken to a hospital in light-to-moderate condition, according to the account. “The forces launched a pursuit after the suspect and are establishing roadblocks in the area,” the military said. The military statement described the pursuit and roadblocks, while its preliminary account said settlers had blocked Palestinian traffic before the collision.

Separately, Palestinian media outlets reported that extremist settlers set fire to a Palestinian car parked near a house in as-Samu, in the South Hebron Hills, on Thursday. No one was reported injured. The article didn’t say whether officials had opened an investigation or identify those responsible.

Rising violence and displacement

Violence in the West Bank has risen since the Hamas attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war in October 2023. Since the war began, Israeli forces or settlers have killed more than 1,100 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Authority health ministry.

The IDF says most Palestinians killed were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops, or people it described as terrorists carrying out attacks. The article gives the military’s account alongside the health ministry’s overall toll.

During the same period, attacks in Israel and the West Bank killed 67 civilians and Israeli security personnel, while clashes during raids in Palestinian cities in the West Bank killed eight other members of the security forces.

Settler attacks on Palestinians and their property have also increased. The IDF recorded 867 incidents of nationalistic crime and settler violence in 2025, compared with 682 in 2024. Critics accuse the government of condoning and encouraging the violence, which has displaced dozens of Palestinian families.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other ministers have regularly described the violence as a marginal concern, saying nearly all incidents are the work of a few hundred wayward youths. The figures cited in the article include the IDF’s recorded incidents, the reported arson in as-Samu and the roadblock by settlers from an illegal outpost near Ateret.