Israel detains 12 more Palestinians in West Bank, bringing tally to 7,340 since Oct. 7

By Awad Rajoub

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – Israeli soldiers roughed up Palestinians, beating some of them severely, before rounding up 12 of them in various parts of the occupied West Bank, prisoners' rights organizations said on Sunday.

The latest arrests bring the total number of Palestinians detained by Israeli forces since Oct. 7 to 7,340, according to a joint statement issued by the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Authority and the Palestinian Prisoners Society.

The figure does not include Palestinians arrested in Gaza, whose numbers are not specified by Israeli authorities, the statement added.

Israeli soldiers entered the governorates of Bethlehem, Ramallah, and Nablus on Saturday evening and continued grilling Palestinians at random, using abusive language during questioning, severely beating some detainees, and threatening their families before leaving with 12 people in custody, it added.

Tensions have been high across the West Bank since fighting broke out in Gaza on Oct. 7 between Palestinian groups and Israel.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, 419 Palestinians have been killed and 4,650 others injured in the West Bank since Oct. 7.

In parallel, Israel is waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip killing over 30,400 Palestinians, most of them children and women, in addition to injuring 71,700 others.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi