Israeli Forces Raid West Bank Town, Surround Mosque

Israeli forces raided Biddu in the occupied West Bank and surrounded the Abdullah bin Jaber Mosque while worshippers were praying, according to the Jerusalem Governorate. The operation followed a shooting near the Neve Tzuf settlement, also known as Halamish, in which an Israeli settler was killed. Palestinian authorities identified Qadri Samara, a former prisoner from Biddu, as the suspected gunman, and Israeli forces arrested him while he was wounded at a hospital in Ramallah. Israeli media described Samara as a Hamas activist, while Israel’s national security minister said the case could qualify for the country’s controversial death-penalty law for terrorism. Separately, Palestinian vehicles were reportedly attacked by Israeli settlers near Bethlehem, injuring one person and damaging a car. The incidents occurred amid intensifying Israeli military raids and settler violence in the West Bank since the Gaza war began in October 2023.