DUBAI, July 11. /TASS/. Clashes between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Palestinians erupted last night in the West Bank, WAFA reported.

According to the news agency, the disturbances broke out after Israeli troops infiltrated the village of Husan west of Bethlehem.

The news outlet reported that the Israeli military opened chaotic fire on local residents. There is no information on casualties. Earlier, two stores had been destroyed in the village. In the village of Al Fandakumiya south of the occupied Jenin, the IDF used tear gas and stun grenades as well as burned large tracts of farmland.

WAFA also noted that the IDF raided the villages of Aqabah and Tayasir east of Tubas. There, the IDF filled in a water well, blocking off access to water for local residents.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza-based Palestinian radical group Hamas staged a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel has declared a state of war readiness; announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians; and began delivering air strikes on the enclave and certain parts of Lebanon and Syria, followed by a ground operation in the enclave. Clashes are underway in the West Bank as well. In late November 2023, a temporary humanitarian ceasefire was brokered by Egypt and Qatar, which lasted for a week. During this time, 110 hostages were released, according to the Israeli side. On December 1, the ceasefire was violated and hostilities resumed, continuing to this day.