Israel arrests 30 more Palestinians in West Bank raids

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - The Israeli army rounded up 30 more Palestinians on Tuesday in military raids across the occupied West Bank, according to a prisoners’ affairs group.

The raids targeted the cities of Hebron, Bethlehem, East Jerusalem, and Nablus in the occupied territory, the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a statement.

“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 to 11,200 the number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in the West Bank since last year, including those who were later released, according to Palestinian figures.

The figure does not 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 Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. Palestinians have also been violently attacked by illegal Israeli settlers.

At least 744 Palestinians have since been killed and over 6,200 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

The escalation followed a landmark opinion by the International Court of Justice last July 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 in Ankara