Israeli army arrests 20 more Palestinians in West Bank raids

By Qais Abu Samra and Ahmed Asmar

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – At least 20 more Palestinians were rounded up in fresh Israeli military raids in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, according to prisoners’ affairs groups.

Former prisoners were among the detainees in the raids that targeted several towns in the West Bank, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement.

The raids came as the Israeli army has continued a deadly military offensive in the northern West Bank since January, killing over 70 Palestinians, displacing thousands, and turning many homes into military outposts.

Wednesday's arrests brought the number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in the West Bank since October 2023 to over 15,700, including those who were released after being arrested, according to Palestinian figures.

The figure does not include those arrested from the Gaza Strip, whose numbers are estimated to be in the thousands.

Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank, where at least 938 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 7,000 injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers since the start of the onslaught on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

In July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s longstanding occupation of Palestinian territories illegal, calling for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.