Ramallah, July 9 (Petra) – Israeli occupation forces arrested 40 Palestinians on Wednesday during raids across the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Prisoners' Club organization said.

In the latest in ongoing military campaigns, Israeli troops staged search-and-arrest raids of dozens of homes in various areas of the West Bank, and demolished homes and facilities in the occupied territories, including Arab East Jerusalem.

Bulldozers tore a house in the town of Silwan, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem, after the army stormed a neighborhood, local Palestinian sources said.

Further north, soldiers raided Shuqba village, west of Ramallah, and tore down four "unlicensed" homes and agricultural facilities, head of the local council Adnan Shalash said.

In the northern West Bank, Israeli army jeeps, along with a bulldozer, ordered a family to vacate their two-story home before razing the building, the local council said, adding that several other homes in the same area had previously received demolition notices.

The stepped up demolitions is part of a systematic policy aimed at displacement of Palestinians as reports spoke of 588 structures and businesses being destroyed in the first half of the year, affecting 843 people, including 411 children.

The occupation army also served demolition notifications against 556 other structures, including 322 homes and 151 agricultural sites.

//Petra//SS

09/07/2025 15:07:10