By Qais Abu Samra
RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - The Israeli army has detained 4,420 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since Oct. 7, Palestinian prisoners' affairs groups said on Friday.
In a joint statement, the Palestinian Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Authority, and the Palestinian Prisoners Society said that the Israeli authorities “arrested 16 citizens at dawn on Friday, which brings the number of detainees in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, to about 4,420 Palestinians since Oct. 7.”
This tally does not include arrests in the Gaza Strip, according to the same source.
Tensions have been running high across the West Bank amid an Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.
At least 288 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank since Oct. 7, in addition to more than 3,100 others injured, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
*Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara