Israel forces withdraw after wounding three people, failing to arrest Palestinians near Nablus

Israeli forces withdrew from a refugee camp near Nablus in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday after they failed in an attempt to arrest Palestinians.

Troops raided Balata camp and encircled a home located in the Al-Jamasin neighbourhood, according to local sources, The New Arab's Arabic-language sister service, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, reported.

When the Israeli forces were unable to arrest the Palestinians they were looking for, they pulled out of the camp.

A young man and two boys were wounded during the raid, which saw gunfire exchanged.

The Nablus emergency director for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, Ahmad Jibril, said three people were wounded by live rounds and were taken to hospital.

It comes as Israeli soldiers arrested 40 Palestinians, including former prisoners previously released from Israeli jails, as they conducted raids across the West Bank.

These include 22 Palestinians arrested from Teqoa, a town near Bethlehem, and 12 more from the town of Yabad to the west of Jenin.

In Yabad, dozens of Palestinians suffered from the effects of tear gas fired by Israeli forces.

The Israeli military raids in the West Bank came on the same day settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem.

Israeli security protected the settlers while they engaged in Jewish worship in violation of the longstanding status quo agreement governing the management of Al-Aqsa, the third holiest site in Islam, and other religious places in Jerusalem.

The Israeli unilateral escalation in the West Bank raises fears of a new round of violence, as the toll of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces on Tuesday alone reaches four in 24 hourshttps://t.co/DsrBWuof5S

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) August 10, 2022

The agreement stipulates that while non-Muslims may visit Al-Aqsa, they may not pray there, though Israelis often ignore this rule.

Earlier this year, during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Israeli settlers and security repeatedly stormed Al-Aqsa.

Hundreds of Palestinians were wounded or arrested.