IOF Seize Palestinian Homes for Military Use Amid Escalating Raids

By Staff, Agencies

"Israeli" occupation forces [IOF] raided the West Bank town of Yaabad, southwest of Jenin, on Thursday evening, seizing a Palestinian home and converting it into a military post.

According to local sources cited by the Palestinian Wafa news agency, the forces told homeowner Hamed Hamarsha that they would retain control of his home for two days. The house is located in Yaabad’s northern neighborhood, a densely populated area near the Civil Defense center, raising concerns over residents’ safety.

Meanwhile, Yaabad has faced repeated IOF raids in recent months, including home invasions, checkpoint installations, the closure of entrances, and restrictions on Palestinian movement.

In a separate incident, IOF raided a Palestinian home in Qusra, south of Nablus, damaging and destroying its belongings and furniture. Qusra Mayor Abdul Azim Wadi told Wafa that the forces had turned the home of Yusuf Abdel Salam into a military post after besieging it for 12 consecutive days.

On Thursday evening, the IOF destroyed the home’s belongings and furniture and threw them through the windows, Wadi said. The homeowner is now staying in another besieged home after the IOF forced him and his family out, claiming the area had been designated a “closed military zone.”

Three homes in Qusra have remained under siege for 12 consecutive days.

The latest incidents came amid escalating IOF and settler attacks across the occupied West Bank. Human Rights Watch previously reported that settler violence escalated in March and April 2026.

Such attacks include arrests, killings, home and property demolitions, the burning of mosques, destruction of agricultural land, restrictions on farmers’ access to their fields, forced displacement, and the expansion of settlements on Palestinian land.

The seizure of civilian homes for military purposes further tightens the occupation’s grip on Palestinian communities, while forcing residents to endure displacement, movement restrictions, and the loss of access to their homes and property.