Israeli army raids West Bank Palestinian camp after occupation soldier death — AFP

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories — Israeli occupation forces raided a Palestinian refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on Monday, AFP journalists said, in an apparent hunt for suspects in the killing of a soldier.

Dozens of Israeli forces entered the Amari Refugee Camp in Ramallah in the early hours of Monday, closing off all the entrances, AFP journalists said.

At least 13 Palestinians were injured during the raid, the Palestinian health ministry said, with soldiers firing tear gas and bullets.

Residents said a number of Palestinians were arrested, though there was no immediate confirmation or statement from Israel, according to AFP. 

Israeli forces later withdrew from the camp.

It came days after an Israeli occupation force soldier was killed during a raid inside the camp.

Sergeant Ronen Lubarsky, 20, of the Duvdevan special forces unit, was struck on the head by a stone block thrown during an arrest raid on Thursday and died early on Saturday.

Those responsible were not arrested at the time.

Amari is located inside Ramallah, seat of the Palestinian Authority, in an area theoretically under the full control of the Palestinian government.

Israeli occupation forces regularly carry out night raids in Palestinian-governed parts of the West Bank to arrest suspects they accuse of “militant activities” against Israel.

Amari, home to around 6,000 Palestinians according to the United Nations, is a regular flashpoint where Israeli raids have sparked fierce clashes in the past.

In another development, Israeli forces rounded up 11 Palestinians in overnight raids across the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli occupation forces, as reported by Anadolu agency. 

The individuals were arrested for “suspected involvement in popular terrorist activities”, the authorities claimed in a Monday statement, without elaborating.

The detainees have been taken into custody for investigation, the statement said, according to Anadolu.

According to official Palestinian figures, some 6,500 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons, including 62 women and about 350 minors.

The Israeli army frequently carries out sweeping arrest campaigns across the occupied West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians.

Tension has been running high across the occupied Palestinian territories since the United States relocated its embassy earlier this month from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which was occupied by Israel in 1967 and represents the heart of the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Since late March, more than 115 Palestinians have been killed and thousands injured by Israeli occupation forces’ gunfire during anti-occupation protests in the Gaza Strip.

The protesters demand their return to their homes in historical Palestine from which they were forcibly displaced in 1948 to make way for the state of Israel.