Israel places al-Khalil under lockdown

Al-Khalil area in the southern occupied West Bank was put under lockdown overnight Friday as Zionist forces searched for a gunman that killed two Israeli occupying settlers in retribution of the murdering of a wounded Palestinian at hospital, locals said.

Israeli forces closed roads and entrances leading into villages and towns in the area and several military checkpoints were erected across the district, locals told Ma’an.

The entrances of the Beit Einun crossroads and Nabi Younis street near Halhul were shut and Palestinians under the age of 30 were prevented from exiting the city of al-Khalil or the nearby town of Sair.

Locals told Ma’an that Israeli forces closed the entrance of the al-Fuwwar refugee camp as well as the road between the refugee camp and Dura.

Villages west of Dura were also sealed, and Israeli forces closed the entrances of al-Karma, Arab al-Ramadin, al-Samu, al-Sura, al-Majd, Beit Awwa and al-Thahriya villages with mounds of dirt.

Homes and institutions were raided by Israeli forces who confiscated footage from surveillance cameras in the southern al-Khalil areas of Yatta, al-Samu, al-Simia, al-Thahriya, Dura and Beit Awwa.

Israeli forces also raided the Dura court house, smashing all locked doors inside the compound, locals added.