Before dawn broke on August 27, 2025, the old city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank found itself surrounded. Dozens of Israeli soldiers, their armored vehicles rumbling through narrow streets, launched a sweeping raid that would last nearly 13 hours, according to residents and Palestinian officials cited by AFP. The Israeli military confirmed to AFP that its forces were conducting an operation in the northern West Bank city, though it declined to specify the mission’s purpose.
The raid began at approximately 3:00 am local time, with soldiers storming several neighborhoods of Nablus’s historic core, home to around 30,000 people. Ghassan Daghlas, the Nablus Governor, described the assault to AFP as “merely a show of force with no justification.” Residents reported that troops expelled an elderly couple from their home, while others saw soldiers searching houses and shops—some of which were converted into makeshift military posts during the operation, according to Ghassan Hamdan, head of the Palestinian Medical Relief organization in Nablus.
As the morning wore on, tensions boiled over. At the eastern entrance to the old city, young Palestinians hurled stones at the Israeli troops, who responded with tear gas and live ammunition. The Palestine Red Crescent reported treating at least seven wounded: five by rubber bullets, one by live bullet shrapnel, and another following a physical assault. One more person was injured in a fall during the raid, and at least 27 others suffered from tear gas inhalation. AFP footage captured the tense atmosphere—military vehicles parked on ancient streets, soldiers taking position on rooftops, and crowds fleeing clouds of tear gas.
This was not an isolated incident. Just a day earlier, on August 26, Israeli forces carried out a rare daytime raid in the heart of Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority. The Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times reported that dozens of Palestinians were wounded as Israeli troops targeted money exchanges allegedly linked to Hamas. The Palestinian Red Crescent said 58 people were wounded in Ramallah, including eight by live fire and fourteen by rubber-coated bullets. Tear gas and gunfire sent people scattering, with AP footage showing wounded youths carried to ambulances as armored vehicles rolled through the city center.
Clashes erupted as Palestinians threw rocks at the Israeli forces, who responded with force. The Israeli military said it detained five people “suspected of terrorist activity” during the Ramallah operation. For many, the sight of Israeli troops in the heart of Ramallah during daylight hours was jarring. While Israeli forces routinely operate in Palestinian cities, such high-profile raids into downtown Ramallah are rare. The Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited autonomy in parts of the West Bank, did not immediately comment on the raid. The Los Angeles Times noted that the raid was likely to further undermine the Palestinian Authority’s credibility at a moment when it was seeking to capitalize on new international recognition of Palestinian statehood.
These recent operations are set against a backdrop of escalating violence in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023. According to AFP’s tally based on Palestinian Authority figures, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 972 Palestinians—including both militants and civilians—since the Gaza conflict began. In the same period, at least 36 Israelis, both civilians and security personnel, have been killed in attacks or during military operations in the West Bank, Israeli figures show.
But the violence has not been limited to confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli forces. Over the past month, a series of disturbing incidents have highlighted growing tensions within Israeli society itself. According to dramatic footage and reports from multiple news outlets, Israeli settlers have attacked IDF military bases, clashed with troops, and even beaten and pepper-sprayed soldiers in the West Bank. One week prior to the Nablus raid, Israeli soldiers were reportedly assaulted by settlers—a development described by some as a “big humiliation” for the IDF.
Settler violence has also targeted Palestinian communities. In incidents documented over the past year, masked Israeli settlers have raided West Bank villages, torched vehicles, and clashed with both Palestinians and Israeli troops. Following the shooting of a teenager, settlers rioted, set vehicles ablaze, and confronted IDF soldiers. In one instance, settlers attacked Palestinians after political developments and, on another occasion, raided villages while clashing with troops. The situation has become so volatile that, as Hindustan Times and other outlets reported, even Israeli soldiers have found themselves besieged by their own countrymen—thrashed, choked, and pelted with stones by Jewish rioters.
The old city of Nablus has a long and fraught history with such military incursions. It has been the focus of several major Israeli raids in recent years, particularly in 2022 and 2023, when large-scale operations targeted local armed groups. The scars of the second Palestinian intifada in 2002 still linger, and the cycle of violence continues. In early June 2025, an Israeli military operation in Nablus resulted in the deaths of two Palestinians, further inflaming local tensions.
Palestinian officials have condemned the recent uptick in raids. Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the Palestinian presidential spokesman, called the Israeli escalation in cities and refugee camps “dangerous, condemned and unacceptable,” according to a statement carried by the official news agency Wafa. Many Palestinians see the Palestinian Authority as a corrupt and autocratic entity, but the ongoing violence and the apparent inability of the Authority to protect its people have further eroded public trust.
For Israeli officials, the justification for these raids is rooted in security concerns. The military maintains that its operations target militants and aim to prevent attacks on Israeli civilians. Yet, the scale and frequency of recent operations, as well as the rising number of civilian casualties, have drawn criticism from Palestinian leaders and international observers alike.
The broader context is one of deepening instability. The war in Gaza has spilled over into the West Bank, fueling a surge in violence that has left hundreds dead and tens of thousands displaced. Israeli military operations, settler violence, and Palestinian attacks on Israelis have all contributed to a volatile and unpredictable environment. The rare daytime raid in Ramallah, the prolonged assault on Nablus, and the spectacle of Israeli soldiers clashing with settlers all point to a region on edge—where old alliances are fraying and the boundaries between order and chaos are growing ever more blurred.
As the dust settles over Nablus and Ramallah, the people of the West Bank are left to grapple with the aftermath—wounded bodies, shattered trust, and the gnawing uncertainty of what tomorrow might bring.
