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IDF arrests 20 wanted Palestinians in overnight Judea, Samaria raids

Soldiers also conducted an “airborne operation” in the Jenin area in northern Samaria.

Israel Defense Forces soldiers carry out an overnight counter-terrorism operation in the Judea and Samaria region, July 8, 2026. Credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit.
Israel Defense Forces soldiers carry out an overnight counter-terrorism operation in the Judea and Samaria region, July 8, 2026. Credit: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.

The Israel Defense Forces arrested 20 wanted Palestinians in overnight counter-terrorism raids across Judea and Samaria, including suspects who were planning a terror attack, the military said on Wednesday.

The IDF said troops also conducted an “airborne operation” in the Jenin area in northern Samaria, where they searched more than 50 buildings.

In the Tulkarem area in western Samaria, Israeli troops and Border Police officers arrested four Hamas-affiliated terrorists, while another suspect was detained on suspicion of incitement to terrorism near the village of al-Funduq.

In the Hebron area of Judea, security forces arrested five suspects and questioned several others following overnight gunfire, the military said.

Others arrested in the overnight raids included an arms dealer and a suspect accused of smuggling Palestinians without entry permits into Israel’s pre-1967 borders.

“IDF soldiers continue to operate to thwart terrorism in order to protect the security of the residents of the area and the civilians of the State of Israel,” the military stated.

Border Police officers shot and arrested a Palestinian terror suspect overnight Wednesday after he brandished a knife at officers and threw stones at security personnel near the Rachel Crossing between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. The suspect was wounded, subdued and taken into custody.

No security personnel were injured in the incident.

Palestinian terrorists targeted Israeli Jews in Judea and Samaria at least 5,051 times in 2025, according to figures published by the Rescuers Without Borders (Hatzalah Judea and Samaria) NGO.

The figures do not include the hundreds of violent attacks on Israeli security personnel occurring during counter-terrorism operations.

Twenty-four Israeli civilians were murdered in Judea and Samaria in 2025, and more than 400 others were wounded, per the group’s annual report.

The findings, which were cross-checked against official data from Israeli security agencies, included 3,299 instances of rock-throwing, 458 firebomb attacks, 655 attempts to blind drivers with laser pointers, 286 attacks involving explosives and 19 shootings.

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