Israeli troops carried out sweeping raids in several Palestinian towns and villages across the West Bank overnight and into Saturday, arresting dozens of people following a deadly gunfight in which two Israelis and four Palestinians were killed, the IDF and Palestinian officials said. In addition, settlers set up four illegal outposts near the area where the clash took place, Hebrew media reported.

The main focus of the IDF raids was the village of Tell near Nablus, where Friday’s deadly incident took place, including searches in the homes of families of the Palestinians who were killed.

Walid Zidan, the mayor of Tell, said around 70 people from the village were detained and questioned at a field interrogation centre set up in a house in the village. Around 10 to 12 had been released so far, he told Reuters by telephone.

“House raids are continuing, army patrols are driving through the streets, and there is no movement of people in the streets,” he said.

The IDF confirmed the raid on Tell and said that soldiers detained 11 wanted Palestinians and questioned another 80.

In the early hours of Saturday, the village was allowed to hold funerals under heavy IDF restrictions for the four Palestinian men killed.

In total, the military said that it apprehended over 70 wanted Palestinians in the West Bank overnight, along with questioning hundreds of others.

The IDF said that in the Jenin area, troops scanned over 300 sites and captured several Palestinians affiliated with Hamas and other suspects who were planning attacks with explosive devices.

In the Ramallah area, soldiers detained 15 wanted Palestinians, including some affiliated with Hamas; in Tulkarem, commandos of the Duvdevan Unit detained a Palestinian affiliated with Hamas who was planning to carry out a terror attack; and in the southern West Bank, 16 more wanted Palestinians were detained, including some affiliated with Hamas and alleged arms dealers.

In addition to the raids, the IDF set up checkpoints and closed gates across the West Bank, witnesses said. The IDF said on Friday it was bolstering its forces in the West Bank by five companies and canceling weekend leave for troops.

In Friday’s incident, a group of settlers — some underage and accompanied by armed adults — raided the town, claiming they were on a hike, though the army later said that the visit into Areas A and B where Israelis are barred had not been coordinated.

Palestinians sought to repel the raiding settlers, and a clash broke out, with one of the Palestinians managing to snatch the weapon of Benayahu Mellet, a 32-year-old member of the neighboring Havat Gilad settlement’s civil security squad.

A gunfight ensued, with the Palestinian fatally shooting Mellet along with Maj. Yuval Ezra, an IDF officer who had been dispatched to the scene.

A platoon commander who arrived with Ezra at the scene managed to shoot dead the attacker, and three other Palestinians were also killed in the gunfight. In addition, two Israelis were wounded, one critically and one seriously, and four Palestinians were wounded, three of whom........

© The Times of Israel