Israel arrests 18 more Palestinians in West Bank raids

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – The Israeli army rounded up 18 more Palestinians in military raids in the occupied West Bank, according to prisoners’ affairs groups on Thursday.

A journalist was among the detainees in the raids that targeted several towns in the occupied territory, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement.

Nine of the detainees were arrested in the Fawwar refugee camp near Hebron city in the southern West Bank, the statement said.

“The raids were marked by abuse, threats against detainees and their families and acts of vandalism and destruction on citizens' homes,” it added.

The new arrests brought the number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in the West Bank since October last year to over 11,400, including those who were released after being arrested, according to Palestinian figures.

The figure doesn't include those arrested from the Gaza Strip whose numbers are estimated to be in the thousands.

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 760 Palestinians have since been killed and over 6,250 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

The escalation follows a landmark opinion last 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