Israeli forces shot and injured at least five Palestinians and detained three others in the southern occupied West Bank district of Hebron overnight Saturday, as Israeli forces continued to impose a strict siege on the village of Sair after an Israeli man was shot and injured while driving his car around midnight near the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Teqoa.
A large number of Israeli forces raided Sair in the predawn hours, closing off the entire village.
Israeli forces closed the al-Adisa al-Duwara entrance of the village, as dozens of troops were deployed in the Wad al-Sharq area in central Sair, where clashes erupted and continued until dawn, with Israeli forces firing live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas canisters, and stun grenades at locals who were throwing rocks.
Local sources told Ma’an that four Palestinians were shot and wounded with rubber-coated steel bullets and dozens more suffered from severe tear gas inhalation. Palestinian Red Crescent medics and volunteers administered first aid on the scene.
Sources in Hebron said Israeli forces carried out searches and seized recordings of security cameras from Palestinian homes and shops in Sair.
An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an that Israeli forces sealed off Sair and imposed security checks in response to a shooting Saturday night, when an unidentified gunman or gunmen fired at a passing vehicle near Teqoa northeast of Hebron, wounding the driver, an Israeli civilian.
He was evacuated for treatment to the Israeli hospital Shaare Zedek Medical, where he was reportedly in moderate condition. She added his vehicle also sustained several bullet holes.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces closed the northern entrances to the district of Hebron in the villages of Halhul, Beit Ummar, and al-Arrub refugee camp, erecting checkpoints and thoroughly searching cars attempting to enter Route 60, the main highway connecting Hebron to the rest of the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an that security measures in al-Arrub could have also been related to the shooting.
Israeli forces also raided the Hebron-area towns of Dura, Yatta, al-Samu, Tarqumiya, and the city of Hebron, raiding and searching several houses.
Shadi Ahmad Elayyan was detained from his home in al-Samu, Shadi al-Masri in Tarqumiya, and Mahmoun Muhammad Mutawi in Hebron. Israeli forces also summoned several people in the area to meet with Israeli intelligence for interrogation.
