30 Palestinians arrested in fresh Israeli raids in occupied West Bank

By Qais Abu Samra and Ahmed Asmar

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - The Israeli army detained at least 30 more Palestinians in fresh military raids in the occupied West Bank on Monday, according to prisoners’ affairs groups.

A freed prisoner under a recent Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement was among the detainees in the raids that targeted several towns in the West Bank, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement.

The raids came as the Israeli army has continued a deadly military offensive in the northern West Bank since January, killing at least 70 Palestinians and displacing thousands.

Witnesses said Israeli army forces stormed the Balata refugee camp in eastern Nablus early Monday and dispatched military reinforcements into the area.

Monday’s arrests brought the number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in the West Bank since October 2023 to over 15,700, including those who were released after being arrested, according to Palestinian figures.

The figure does not include those arrested from the Gaza Strip whose numbers are estimated to be in the thousands.

Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank, where at least 937 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 7,000 injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers since the start of the onslaught on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

In July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s longstanding occupation of Palestinian territories illegal, calling for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.