By Qais Abu Samra
RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – The Israeli army again made incursions into the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem on Friday and before taking 25 Palestinians with it, soldiers roughed up and grilled several people, according to prisoners' rights organizations.
The new arrests brought the total number of Palestinians detained by Israeli forces since Oct. 7 to 6,485, the Commission of Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement.
According to the statement, the majority of the arrests took place in the town of Baqat al-Hatab in Qalqilya Governorate, with the remaining taking place in Tulkarm, Jenin, Tubas, and Jerusalem.
During the Israeli arrest campaigns, soldiers also beat, abused, and interrogated several Palestinians, as well as damaged their homes and other properties, the statement noted.
In their annual report, both groups said there were 8,800 Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails as of Dec. 31, 2023, including 80 women.
Official Israeli data transmitted by the Israeli Human Rights Defense Center HaMoked on Thursday revealed the presence of about 9,000 Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, including administrative detainees.
Tensions have been high across the West Bank since Israel launched a deadly military offensive against the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas in which Israel says 1,200 Israelis were killed.
At least 27,131 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 66,287 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.
*Writing by Ikram Kouachi