Large-Scale Israeli Raid On Qalandiya Refugee Camp Injures 51; Dozens Detained

Israeli forces carried out a "large-scale" operation in the Qalandiya refugee camp in the occupied West Bank that, the Jerusalem Governorate told Al Jazeera, injured at least 51 Palestinians.

Troops demolished several commercial shops near the Qalandiya checkpoint on Thursday, then imposed a curfew on the nearby town of Kafr Aqab and sealed roads linking the area to Jerusalem.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that 35 people were hospitalised after receiving severe beatings and another six were treated at the scene. One person was struck by a rubber-coated steel bullet, and six others suffered tear gas inhalation, the PRCS said.

The PRCS added that ambulance crews were reportedly blocked from reaching the wounded late on Wednesday night, although teams managed to evacuate several patients, including people requiring kidney dialysis.

Journalists at the camp's entrance were reportedly targeted with stun grenades and ordered to leave. Local Palestinian media said dozens of residents — including women and children — were detained for field interrogations inside houses converted into makeshift holding sites.

Israeli forces also conducted a separate raid in the city of Jenin on Thursday, where PRCS said one Palestinian was shot and another was assaulted.

Wider Context

Rights groups say Israeli military operations and settler violence across the occupied West Bank have intensified in recent months, alongside rising demolitions of Palestinian property and the seizure of land.

According to monitoring groups, there were more than 11,000 recorded Israeli military and settler attacks across the West Bank in the first half of this year, with over 2,300 Palestinians reportedly displaced from their homes due to settler violence and related restrictions.

A United Nations–appointed commission of inquiry concluded in June that Israeli authorities repeatedly failed to prevent foreseeable settler attacks and often did not investigate or punish those responsible.

The commission's investigators said that in some cases authorities directly enabled violence by providing army protection and, they allege, support to settler groups.

Israel has also banned UNRWA — the UN agency for Palestinian refugees — from operating in occupied East Jerusalem and has demolished several of its facilities, including sites near Qalandiya.

Since assuming responsibility for civilian affairs in the occupied West Bank, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has, according to reports, approved, legalised or re-established more than 104 settlements and 160 agricultural outposts. Separately, Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir has been reported to support state-backed "civil defence" programmes that distributed firearms to settlers.

Several Western governments, including the United Kingdom, Canada and France, have imposed sanctions on individual settlers and on sitting ministers such as Smotrich over their alleged roles in settler violence. The United States previously revoked limited sanctions that had been targeted at settlers accused of attacking Palestinians.

Claims and figures in this article are drawn from statements by the Jerusalem Governorate, the Palestine Red Crescent Society, local media, rights groups and a UN commission report.