clear

Creating new perspectives since 2009

Israeli forces arrest 16 Palestinians, demolish homes, Bedouin community structures in occupied West Bank

September 16, 2026 at 7:07 pm

Palestinians protest the demolition as Israeli forces demolish of a two-story Palestinian house in the Hillet al-Hams area of Yatta town in Hebron, West Bank, Palestine on September 16, 2026. [Wisam Hashlamoun – Anadolu Agency]

Israeli forces arrested 16 Palestinians, including two women and two teenagers, and demolished Bedouin community and Palestinian structures across the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, according to Palestinian sources, Anadolu reports.

The Palestinian Prisoners Media Office, a nongovernmental organization, said in a statement that Israeli forces carried out widespread raids and home searches in the provinces of Tulkarem, Hebron, Nablus, and Jenin.

Tulkarem recorded the highest number of arrests, with 10 Palestinians detained in Tulkarem city, Deir al-Ghusun, and Dhanaba, including two women and members of families of prisoners, according to the statement.

In Hebron, Israeli forces arrested two young Palestinians, aged 15 and 18, after detaining them for more than four hours on Al-Ikhwan Street in the southern part of the city.

Three Palestinians were arrested during raids in Balata al-Balad and Asira al-Shamaliya in Nablus, while another Palestinian from Jenin refugee camp was detained in Burqin, west of Jenin, the statement said.

Separately, Israeli army bulldozers and machinery demolished Bedouin community structures in the western part of Deir Ballut town in the Salfit province, according to Al-Baidar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights.

READ: Israeli army demolishes Palestinian Bedouin settlement in occupied West Bank

The organization said the community had been home to more than 20 Palestinians for over two decades. Residents rely on livestock farming for their livelihoods and own about 1,000 sheep, it added.

In Hebron, Israeli bulldozers demolished a two-story Palestinian home housing eight people in Khirbet Khallet al-Hummus in Masafer Yatta, along with a water well and parts of a wall surrounding the property, according to local sources.

Homeowner Hammad Al-Haddar told Anadolu Agency that Israeli authorities had previously issued a demolition order and that the family had waited about two months while pursuing legal measures to stop it.

Palestinian prisoners’ groups and the Palestinian Authority’s Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs said about 9,350 Palestinians were held in Israeli prisons as of early September 2026, including more than 350 children and about 90 women.

They said 3,176 were being held under administrative detention without charge. The figures do not include all Gaza detainees held at Israeli military camps.

Palestinian rights groups have reported allegations of torture, starvation, and medical neglect in Israeli prisons, saying the conditions have contributed to the deaths of dozens of detainees.

OPINION: Nature has its say in Gaza