Tensions Rise as Israel Intensifies Raids Following Deadly Jerusalem Attack

Updated at by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1218 EAT on Tuesday 9 September 2025

Israeli forces have launched a series of raids on towns and villages in the occupied West Bank, following a deadly shooting at a bus stop in occupied East Jerusalem on Monday that left six people dead. The attack, carried out by two Palestinian gunmen, has heightened fears of a broader escalation, including increased military operations, settler violence, and collective punishment targeting Palestinians amid Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza.

On Tuesday morning, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, citing local sources, reported that Israeli forces stormed the town of Biddu, north of Jerusalem, and sealed its main entrance. The road connects Biddu to the neighboring town of al-Jib and serves as a critical access point for nearly 70,000 residents in the surrounding area.

The latest developments come amid growing concern over the intensifying Israeli military campaign across the occupied Palestinian territories, as tensions continue to rise following the Jerusalem shooting.

During the raids, Israeli forces reportedly fired live ammunition, sound bombs, and tear gas—some described by local sources as toxic—amid clashes with Palestinian residents.

According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, Israeli forces also carried out operations in several towns northwest of Jerusalem, deploying heavy tear gas and conducting arrests. In the town of Qatna, troops raided a residential building and detained several young men.

The escalation follows a deadly shooting at a bus stop in occupied East Jerusalem on Monday, in which two Palestinian gunmen killed six people. In response, Israeli army chief Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir announced a “full closure” of the area where the attackers were believed to have originated.

“We will continue with a determined and ongoing operational and intelligence effort,” Zamir said in a statement. “We will pursue terror cells everywhere, and we will thwart terrorist infrastructure and its organisers.”

The raids come as fears grow of wider Israeli military and settler violence in the West Bank, as well as collective punishment measures, amid Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza.

While Israeli raids across the occupied West Bank have intensified since the war on Gaza began, Monday’s attack in Jerusalem has further heightened tensions on the ground.

According to Al Jazeera Arabic, local sources reported that Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian homes in the village of Jurish, south of Nablus, vandalizing properties and spray-painting racist slogans. The incident has added to growing concerns over a surge in settler violence under the cover of ongoing military operations.

Israeli forces on Tuesday demolished the home of Palestinian prisoner Thabet Masalma in the town of Beit Awwa, southwest of Hebron, triggering clashes with local residents. During the confrontation, Israeli troops fired live ammunition, wounding at least two Palestinians, according to local reports.

Masalma is accused of involvement in a shooting attack eight months ago that killed an Israeli settler and injured three others. The home demolition has left Masalma’s wife, parents, and three children homeless.

The move is part of a longstanding policy of punitive home demolitions targeting the families of Palestinians accused of carrying out attacks—widely condemned by human rights groups as a form of collective punishment. Israeli officials have pledged to accelerate such measures in the wake of Monday’s deadly shooting in occupied East Jerusalem, which killed six people.

In a statement, the Israeli army said it has already conducted structural surveys of the homes belonging to the two Palestinian suspects in Monday’s attack, in preparation for their demolition.

Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem reports that at least 26 Palestinian homes have been demolished so far in 2025 as punitive measures, displacing more than 70 people across the occupied West Bank.

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