Israeli army raids currency exchange shops in Ramallah

RAMALLAH, Palestine

Israeli forces on Wednesday raided three currency exchange shops in Ramallah, the central occupied West Bank, and closed them.

According to witnesses, the Israeli army raided the cities of Ramallah and Al-Bireh, and imposed a curfew in several neighborhoods.

The Israeli forces also broke into three currency exchange shops in Ramallah after detonating their doors, and placed a message warning the owners against reopening them.

The foreign currency exchange offices across the West Bank cities were subject to Israeli army's raids in recent months, during which it seized funds under the claim of belonging to the Palestinian group Hamas.

Since Wednesday morning, the Israeli army has raided several areas across the West Bank to arrest Palestinians.

Over the past few years, the Israeli military has conducted regular raids in the West Bank, which have escalated with the beginning of the war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. Palestinians have also been violently attacked by illegal Israeli settlers.

At least 809 Palestinians have since been killed and over 6,450 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

The escalation follows a landmark opinion in July by the International Court of Justice that declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land "illegal" and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar