Palestinian killed, 16 wounded amid West Bank violence as IDF launches raids

Jack Khoury and Yaniv Kubovich report in Haaretz on 7 October 2026:

A Palestinian man was killed and 16 others were wounded by gunfire in several incidents in the West Bank on Wednesday, amid a wave of violence involving settlers, Palestinians and Israeli forces as the olive harvest season begins.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said 44-year-old Ali Hassan Yusra al-Bazari was shot dead as IDF forces and settlers entered the village of Burqa, near Nablus. Two other Palestinians were wounded by gunfire in the same incident, one seriously and the other moderately.

In a separate incident in the village of Ramin, near Tulkarm, four Palestinians were wounded by gunfire during a settler attack, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. The wounded were an 81-year-old man, a 72-year-old woman and two 47-year-old men.

Magen David Adom also reported that several Israelis were wounded by stone-throwing near Sebastia, between Burqa and Ramin. A 25-year-old man was taken to Beilinson Hospital, while four others were treated at the scene for minor injuries.

The violence came as the IDF and Border Police launched operations across several West Bank areas to arrest and question dozens of suspects accused of involvement in terrorism and incitement.  According to the IDF, the operations are particularly targeting suspects accused of expressing support for the October 7 massacre.

Separately, Israeli forces began demolishing dozens of memorials erected in honor of militants across the West Bank, including in Nablus and other Palestinian cities and towns.  The demolition operation followed an effort by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Religious Zionism lawmaker Zvi Succot to identify dozens of such memorials and submit them for demolition several weeks ago, according to a statement issued by the two.

Among the structures demolished was a prominent memorial in central Nablus and another in the town of Ya’bad, southwest of Jenin, dedicated to Yasser al-Hamdouni.

Soldiers left notices in the areas where the demolitions were carried out saying Israeli security forces were acting against monuments that “glorify terrorists” and attacks against Israel.  “Security forces will not allow incitement to terrorism or the glorification and praise of terrorists,” the notice said, adding that people accused of glorifying or supporting terrorism would be arrested on suspicion of incitement and that memorials erected for that purpose would be demolished.  Smotrich and Succot praised the operation, saying Israel was “cutting off the infrastructure of incitement to terrorism.””Terrorism begins with incitement and in the public sphere, and now the change has reached the ground,” they said.

This article is reproduced in its entirety