Full Breakdown
Israeli Raid on Palestinian NGOs in Ramallah Escalates West Bank Tensions
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Raid Overview
On October 13, 2026, Israeli forces entered Ramallah and raided the offices of Addameer and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees. Soldiers removed furniture, folders and equipment, loaded them onto a military trailer, and re-affixed the closure notice placed on Addameer’s door in August 2022. Snipers were positioned around the Palestine Medical Complex, the territory’s largest government hospital. Israeli troops fired tear-gas canisters and stun grenades, wounding at least two Palestinians—a young man with a gunshot wound to the lower back and a 14-year-old with a live-bullet wound to the thigh, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Four journalists were also injured, including a hand injury from a stun grenade and a shrapnel wound to a foot, reported by Wafa.
Background & Context
The West Bank has been under Israeli occupation since 1967. Violence intensified after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which sparked Israel’s war in Gaza and a surge in settler-related assaults and military operations. In August 2022, Israel closed Addameer and six other NGOs, designating them “terrorist organisations” and alleging links to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The October 13 raid is part of a broader Israeli campaign targeting Palestinian civil-society groups.
Data & Statistics
- Injured Palestinians in Ramallah: two (young man, 14-year-old) – Palestinian Health Ministry.
- Journalists injured: four – Wafa (Palestine TV journalist Khaled Mattawa, hand injury; Sky News Arabia journalist Firas Lotfi, foot shrapnel).
- Broader West Bank injuries (Oct 14, 2026): four Palestinians injured in separate incidents – Palestinian Red Crescent Society.
- Arrests: Israeli army announced the foiling of an attack by four Islamic Jihad terrorists and the detention of a suspect in arms trafficking.
- Population: roughly three million Palestinians and more than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem – Israeli army data.
- Assault count: 62,916 assaults on Palestinians and their property reported since the start of the Gaza war – Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission.
Official Statements & Responses
The army did not comment on the raid itself. The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed a child was wounded by live ammunition and that several others suffered breathing difficulties. Wafa identified the injured journalists and described the deployment of snipers around the hospital. Israel’s Ministry of Military Affairs reiterated its view that Addameer and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees function as extensions of the PFLP, justifying their designation as terrorist organisations.
On-the-Ground Reports
AFP journalists filmed soldiers moving equipment out of Addameer’s premises and firing tear-gas and stun grenades toward reporters, wounding four. Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim reported that the raid caused “a lot of panic” among residents, noting the presence of children at school and relatives at work. Palestinian eyewitnesses described soldiers firing stun grenades directly at journalists and using tear-gas to disperse crowds.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Sources differ on the exact number and identity of those injured. France 24 cites two Palestinian civilians wounded by live fire, while Al Jazeera reports a child injured and additional cases of suffocation. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society’s October 14 update mentions four Palestinians injured in separate incidents elsewhere in the West Bank, not directly linked to the Ramallah raid. Israeli officials have not provided an official casualty count for the operation, leaving the full extent of injuries unverified.