Israeli occupation forces withdrew today from the city of Ramallah in the West Bank after hours of raids that targeted currency exchange shops and clashes that left dozens of Palestinians injured. According to Al Jazeera sources, the attacking forces withdrew from Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorate following the incursion, which is part of a continuous military escalation ongoing for about two years, accompanied by unprecedented settlement expansion.

The occupation forces penetrated the main Al-Manara roundabout area in central Ramallah, where the Palestinian Authority headquarters is located, with soldiers climbing onto nearby rooftops. The Israeli forces raided a currency exchange shop, deploying large reinforcements and firing rubber bullets, stun grenades, and tear gas towards dozens of Palestinians before withdrawing.

French Press Agency reported that Israeli soldiers confiscated contents from the currency exchange shop, including safes usually containing money, and transported them in a truck. Israeli media described the operation as a wide military campaign in Ramallah, with units such as Duvdevan and Border Police participating.

Israeli sources stated part of the operation aimed to close currency exchange shops and seize funds “prepared for terrorist operations,” according to their wording. Witnesses told Anadolu Agency that the forces arrested three people after raiding a currency exchange shop in the city center.

The incursion sparked confrontations between Palestinian youths and occupation forces, who used live and rubber bullets as well as tear gas. Palestinian sources reported 58 injuries, including women, children, and elderly, due to gunfire or tear gas suffocation.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said seven were hit by live bullets, six by rubber-coated metal bullets, and three by live bullet shrapnel. Medical teams were prevented from reaching an injured person near Ramallah’s vegetable market by occupation forces, who fired warning shots at paramedics.

In a related development, Palestinian sources reported that an Israeli special force arrested a Palestinian inside the Cairo Amman Bank building in the center of Hebron, southern West Bank. Occupation forces reinforced their presence in Hebron, closed the Al-Seha roundabout area, fired stun grenades and tear gas before withdrawing.

Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governor Leila Ghanem condemned the Israeli incursion, calling it an attempt to intimidate the Palestinian people. She described the raid and accompanying assaults on Palestinians, their property, and the siege of a peaceful protest demanding the return of martyrs’ bodies as “organized state terrorism.”

She added that despite ongoing genocide in Gaza, daily incursions in the West Bank, and settler aggression, the Palestinian people remain steadfast, unmoved by repression, displacement, or killing policies.

Hamas condemned the raid on Ramallah and Al-Bireh, describing it as a destructive and exterminationist approach by the occupation to impose control over the West Bank. Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Mardawi said targeting civilian facilities and raiding commercial and banking institutions constitute a fully-fledged crime and an extension of the occupation’s genocide war ongoing for about two years in Gaza.

Since the Al-Aqsa Flood operation about two years ago, Israeli attacks in the West Bank have escalated, including assaults on Jenin, Tulkarm, Nablus, and Tubas refugee camps, destroying parts of them. These attacks have resulted in over a thousand Palestinian deaths, more than 7,000 injuries, and 18,000 arrests.