Israel detains 35 more Palestinians in occupied West Bank amid growing tension

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – Israeli forces detained 35 more Palestinians in occupied West Bank on Monday, taking the tally of detainees in the occupied territory to 4,730 since Oct. 7, according to prisoners’ affairs groups.

The arrests took place in the cities of Nablus, Tulkarem, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron and East Jerusalem, the Commission for Detainees and Ex-Prisoners’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement.

The figure of detainees does not include those arrested by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip.

As the world’s attention is focused on Gaza, where Israeli attacks since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas have killed at least 20,424 Palestinians and led to a humanitarian catastrophe, violence in the occupied West Bank has grown. More than 300 Palestinians have been killed there by Israeli army fire and in attacks by illegal Jewish settlers since October 7, according to Palestinian figures.