Israeli Forces Ram Pilgrims’ Bus, Detain Two in West Bank Raids
The ramming of a Hajj-bound bus marks a disturbing escalation in Israel’s pattern of targeting civilian infrastructure in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli occupation forces carried out a wave of raids across the occupied West Bank early Saturday, detaining two Palestinians and ramming a bus transporting Hajj pilgrims in the northern city of Jenin.
According to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, an Israeli military vehicle “deliberately” crashed into the bus outside the Jenin governorate building as it prepared to depart for the Karama border crossing en route to Jordan and onward to Saudi Arabia.
The bus was carrying Palestinian pilgrims, many of them elderly and suffering from chronic illnesses.
Jenin Deputy Governor Mansour al-Saadi condemned the act, saying the vehicle “deliberately and directly hit the bus” while it was parked, adding that the incident caused significant trauma among the passengers.
A nation of mafias—
Watch as the Israeli army intentionally hits a mini bus full of Palestinian worshippers who were preparing to leave from Jenin, north of the West Bank to Mecca in Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj pilgrimage.
Israelis are intentionally violent.
What a disgusting… pic.twitter.com/dNY7MjoRSh— Mariam Barghouti مريم البرغوثي (@MariamBarghouti) May 31, 2025
Due to Israeli-imposed travel restrictions, Palestinians from the West Bank are forced to use Jordanian airports for international flights.
In a separate incident, Israeli forces stormed the town of Silat al-Harithiya, west of Jenin, and detained a young man, Samer Jaradat. Witnesses told Anadolu Agency that an explosive device detonated as the troops withdrew from the area.
In Tulkarem, Israeli soldiers raided the home of 24-year-old Diana Ghalib Mazid in the town of Anabta and arrested her, according to WAFA.
Raids were also reported in the Askar New Camp and al-Ain Camp in Nablus, where gunfire and sound bombs were heard. No injuries or arrests were confirmed in those incidents.
WATCH: An armored Israeli military vehicle intentionally rams into a bus carrying pilgrims in Jenin, in the northern occupied West Bank.
The pilgrims were about to depart for the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. No injuries were reported, but the assault caused panic… pic.twitter.com/vqm8O8M9NA
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) May 31, 2025
Israel has ramped up military operations in the northern West Bank since January 21, beginning with Jenin and expanding to Tulkarem six days later.
Since the beginning of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, at least 972 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in Israeli military attacks and settler violence across the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
In July 2023, the International Court of Justice declared that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal under international law.
(PC, AA)