Palestinians on edge as Israel ramps up raids in wake of Jerusalem attack

"Israeli forces have stormed towns and villages, after two gunmen opened fire at a bus stop in occupied East Jerusalem, killing six people, raising fears of further military and Israeli settler violence against Palestinians and collective punishment in the occupied West Bank. On Tuesday morning, the Palestinian Wafa news agency, citing local sources, reported that Israeli forces stormed the town of Biddu and closed its main entrance that connects it to the town of al-Jib,"

"During the raid, Israeli forces fired live bullets, sound bombs and, amid clashes with locals, fired toxic and tear gas. Israeli forces also raided several towns northwest of Jerusalem and carried out arrests using heavy tear gas. In the town of Qatna, a number of young men were arrested after a residential building was raided, Wafa added. Following the attack, Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir said in a statement on Monday that he had ordered a full closure of the area"

"We will continue with a determined and ongoing operational and intelligence effort, we will pursue terror cells everywhere, and we will thwart terrorist infrastructure and its organisers, he said. While raids in the occupied West Bank have ramped up since the war in Gaza began, Monday's attack has heightened tensions. Local sources on the ground told Al Jazeera Arabic that a number of settlers had attacked homes belonging to Palestinians and spray-painted racist slogans in the village of Jurish, south of Nablus."

Israeli forces launched raids on towns and villages northwest of Jerusalem after a shooting at a bus stop in East Jerusalem killed six people. Forces stormed Biddu and closed its main entrance linking it to al-Jib, the primary road for nearly 70,000 residents. During operations, soldiers used live bullets, sound bombs, toxic and tear gas, raided multiple towns, and detained several people including young men in Qatna. Military leadership ordered a full closure of the suspected gunmen's area and pledged continued operations. Settler attacks, checkpoints, and road closures increased, raising tensions across the West Bank.

Read at www.aljazeera.com