🚨 On Wednesday, November 26, 2025, the Israeli army launched a large-scale counterterrorism operation in the northern West Bank, imposing curfews, setting up roadblocks and deploying ground forces.
In a joint statement, the Israeli military and the Shin Bet security agency said they “began operating as part of a broad counterterrorism operation” aimed at dismantling cells linked to Palestinian armed groups.
The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that the incursion began overnight, with significant numbers of Israeli troops and bulldozers entering Tubas and the towns of Aqqaba, Tammun, Tayaseer and Wadi al-Far’a. As a result, all government and private institutions, including schools and kindergartens in Tubas, remain closed.
“For the first time in years, Apache helicopters are participating in the operation, firing heavy machine guns toward residential areas,” said Ahmed al-Asaad, Palestinian Authority governor of Tubas and the Northern Jordan Valley, calling it “violations and collective punishment.”
He added that forces have closed roads leading to the Tubas Governorate with earth mounds, raided several homes—forcing residents out for days and converting them into military posts—and even prevented some patients from reaching medical care.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa has instructed all relevant government bodies and emergency committees to respond, mobilize resources and maintain essential services to meet citizens’ needs.
Hamas and the Islamic Jihad Movement condemned the operation, warning of further instability.
Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East war. Since Oct. 7, 2023, the territory has seen a sharp escalation in violence—near-daily assaults by settlers and intensified Israeli operations—resulting in at least 1,082 Palestinian deaths, according to the Ramallah-based health ministry.
As tensions rise, residents and observers are watching closely for the next moves in this long-running conflict.
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Israeli army launches large-scale operation in northern West Bank
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