Report: 25 Palestinians wounded in IDF operation in Nablus

Palestinian sources reported Thursday that at least 25 people were wounded during an IDF operation in Nablus. According to reports, the casualties include an infant and one man, who were critically injured.

The IDF confirmed the attack, saying military forces were operating in Nablus' Qasbah in an effort to locate weapons and wanted gunmen, and were using means of riot dispersal.

Large IDF forces made their way into Nablus Thursday morning, surrounding several areas, especially near Nablus' old city, and imposing a curfew. The IDF has detained one wanted gunmen for questioning.

According to Palestinian sources, an altercation flared between the soldiers and several local youths.

The Palestinians expressed their discontent with the IDF's operation in Nablus, particularly since Palestinian police were already deployed in the city.

A Palestinian security source told Ynet that "the operation was meant to undermine all of the Palestinian Authority's security efforts in the city, which has already resulted in nearly all the city's gunmen ceasing their activities, handing over their weapons and signing the amnesty deal."

However another local operative told Ynet he believed the IDF's operation was meant to ensure the last of the city's al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades members (Fatah's military wing) would surrender to the PA.

The Palestinian Authority denied this assertation and said all wanted gunmen had already been transferred to the Jenayed prison in Nablus and to the PA headquarters in Ramallah and Jericho.

Efrat Weiss contributed to this report