Israeli forces shoot and arrest Palestinian man in West Bank raid

Israeli forces shot and arrested a Palestinian man during a raid in the northern occupied West Bank on Wednesday, a local prisoners’ rights official told Anadolu. Separately, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz has reported that Israeli prison guards have repeatedly fired rubber bullets at Palestinian prisoners, in some cases causing severe injuries.

Raid in Tammun

Samer Bani Odeh, a man in his 40s, was shot in the hand when Israeli special forces raided his home and those of his brothers in the town of Tammun, southeast of Tubas. That is according to Kamal Bani Odeh, head of the Palestinian Prisoners Club in Tubas. He is a man Israeli forces had been pursuing since 2017, according to Anadolu.

Earlier in the day, the official said, Israeli forces detained one of Samer’s brothers to pressure him to surrender, and released him several hours later. Samer previously spent two years in Israeli prisons during the Second Intifada. His family has faced repeated raids and arrests over the years, including the detention of his wife, his son and his brothers.

Beaten at a checkpoint

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said a 21-year-old Palestinian from the nearby village of Tell was taken to hospital after being beaten by Israeli forces at the Al-Murabba checkpoint west of Nablus. He had been detained since 7am and was released hours later, it said.

Rubber bullets at close range

Haaretz reported on Wednesday, citing medical records and testimonies, that guards at Israeli prisons shot Palestinian prisoners with rubber bullets, leaving one needing surgery to remove a testicle and another needing surgery for a fractured shin. Physicians for Human Rights Israel and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel had documented 21 shooting incidents across five prisons since October 2023, the newspaper said. Most took place in late 2025 and the first half of 2026, often at close range and with no unrest beforehand, according to the testimonies. The rights groups said the ammunition appeared to be rubber or plastic projectiles.

• Ketziot, June: the most severe case involved a prisoner shot in the testicle at Ketziot Prison in southern Israel. Medical records from Soroka Hospital showed the organ had been destroyed. In testimony to his lawyer, the prisoner said guards had kicked him in the testicles during a strip search a week earlier, and that he was allowed to see a doctor only two days later. After that week, he said, members of the Israeli Prison Service’s Masada unit fired rubber bullets into his cell, hitting the injured testicle and the back of his right knee. He said guards dragged him about 50 metres while he was bleeding heavily before he got medical attention and was taken to hospital.
• Ketziot, July: another prisoner underwent surgery for a fractured left shin after being hit by a rubber bullet, according to prison medical records.
• A former inmate: he told Haaretz he was shot at close range in April and denied adequate medical care for 15 days, and was operated on only after his release.

The rights groups said shootings occurred inside cells, in prison yards and even in areas where inmates wait to meet their lawyers. The Israeli Prison Service’s response was not included in the report as relayed by Anadolu.

Palestinians in Israeli custody

About 9,350 Palestinians, including 350 children and 90 women, are held in Israeli prisons, where human rights groups have reported widespread torture, starvation and medical neglect that have contributed to dozens of deaths in custody, according to Anadolu.

Protests inside Israel

The Anadolu report also noted that dozens of ultra-Orthodox protesters opposed to military conscription stormed a building in Bnei Brak, east of Tel Aviv, that houses an army training programme for ultra-Orthodox recruits. It was the third attempt in a week, Israel Hayom reported, and two demonstrators were arrested. Opposition leader Avigdor Lieberman condemned the protesters, and former prime minister Naftali Bennett accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of encouraging draft evasion. Israel votes on October 27.

Why it matters

The two reports show the pressure on Palestinians at both ends of the system: in the street, where raids and checkpoints are routine in the occupied West Bank, and behind bars, where rights groups say abuse is documented and rarely answered. Read our reports on settlers torching homes near Ramallah and on Palestinian farmers’ fears as the olive harvest begins.

This article draws on reporting by The Express Tribune and Anadolu, citing Haaretz.