By Ahmed J Versi
London, (The Muslim News): Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank on Sunday after accusing him of attempting to carry out a car-ramming attack near the Ganim settlement in the northern West Bank, according to the Israeli military.
The army did not identify the man. The incident came amid a wider escalation of violence across the occupied territory and heightened Israeli security measures ahead of the Yom Kippur Jewish holiday, which begins on Sunday evening.
Earlier, Israel’s public broadcaster reported that an Israeli settler was injured in a drive-by shooting near the Nili settlement in the central West Bank.
In a separate incident, an Israeli settler was killed in a shooting near the Neve Tzuf settlement, also known as Halamish, northwest of Ramallah. Israeli authorities said Palestinian suspect Qadri Samara was arrested while wounded inside a hospital in Ramallah.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu subsequently ordered the military and the Shin Bet domestic security agency to reinforce their presence across the West Bank, impose closures and carry out arrests and what he described as “offensive operations.”
Netanyahu also ordered the immediate demolition of the home of the Palestinian accused of carrying out the attack.
Israeli forces later raided the town of Biddu, northwest of East Jerusalem, and surrounded the Abdullah bin Jaber Mosque while worshippers were performing Asr prayers, according to the Jerusalem Governorate.
The governorate said the raid followed the shooting near Neve Tzuf and that Israeli forces had entered the town in large numbers.
Meanwhile, around 100 illegal Israeli settlers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday morning under Israeli police protection, according to the Jerusalem Governorate. The governorate said some performed Jewish religious rituals in the compound’s courtyards.
The incursion took place a day after Netanyahu, several ministers and thousands of Israelis gathered at the Western Wall plaza under heavy security, and as Yom Kippur was due to begin.
Tensions at the Al-Aqsa compound have increased during Jewish holidays in recent months, with Palestinian officials warning against attempts to alter existing arrangements at the site.
Violence in the occupied West Bank has intensified since the Gaza war began in October 2023. Palestinian officials and rights groups have documented killings, arrests, home demolitions and settlement expansion, while Israeli authorities say their operations are aimed at preventing attacks against Israelis.
The latest incidents come as Israeli forces increase security measures across the West Bank, while Palestinians accuse Israel of using holiday periods to intensify military operations and incursions.
[Photo: Israeli military vehicles and heavily armed soldiers block Al-Irsal Street outside the H Clinic Specialized Hospital during a raid in Ramallah, West Bank, Palestine on September 20, 2026. Israeli occupation forces stormed the medical facility and detained a wounded Palestinian man alleged to have been involved in a shooting attack near the illegal Halamish (Neve Tzuf) settlement earlier in the day, while surrounding roads were sealed off and military checkpoints deployed across the area.
Photojournalist: Issam Rimawi/AA]
