Israel detains 10 more Palestinians in occupied West Bank

By Awad Rjoob

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - The Israeli army on Sunday detained at least 10 Palestinians from areas across the occupied West Bank.

According to a joint statement by the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society, the new arrests brought the total number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli forces since Oct. 7, 2023 to 8,985.

The arrests mainly took place in the cities of Jenin, Nablus, Hebron, and Bethlehem.

During the Israeli arrest campaigns, the Israeli forces beat and abused Palestinians and damaged their homes and properties, the statement also said.

Earlier on Sunday, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that the Israeli army arrested six Palestinians from the same family, including a woman, during its storming of the town of Beitunia west of Ramallah.

The detainees are originally from the Gaza Strip, said the agency.

Tensions have been high across the West Bank since Israel launched a deadly military offensive against the Gaza Strip after a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 521 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 5,000 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

Israel is accused of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice, which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza where more than a million displaced Palestinians had sought refuge.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi.