Israel arrests 30 more Palestinians in occupied West Bank raids

By Awad Rajoob

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - At least 30 more Palestinians were detained by Israeli forces in military raids in the occupied West Bank, two prisoners affairs groups said Saturday.

“The detainees were subjected to abuse, severe beatings, and threats to their families, in addition to widespread acts of sabotage and destruction of citizens’ homes,” the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement.

The arrests took place in Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Tulkarm, Hebron, Tubas, and Jerusalem.

The new arrests brought to 9,920 the number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank since last Oct. 7, according to Palestinian figures.

Tensions have been high across the occupied West Bank since Israel launched a deadly military offensive against the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 40,000 people since Oct. 7.

At least 600 Palestinians have since been killed, including 144 children, and nearly 5,400 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice 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 Ikram Kouachi in Ankara