Tally of Palestinians detained in occupied West Bank climbs to 7,505 since Oct. 7

By Awad Rjoub

RAMALLAH (AA) – The number of Palestinians detained in the West Bank has risen to 7,505 since Oct. 7, following the Israeli army's arrest of 15 Palestinians on Friday and Saturday, according to Palestinian rights groups.

The number of Palestinian detainees has increased to 7,505 since Oct. 7, confirmed the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society in a joint statement.

The statement explained that Israeli forces arrested at least 15 Palestinians on Friday and Saturday in the West Bank, including former prisoners.

The arrest operations were carried out in the governorates of Nablus, Tubas, Ramallah, and Hebron, accompanied by wide-ranging raids, harassment, brutal beatings, threats against detainees and their families, as well as extensive destruction and sabotage of homes, according to the statement.

The Israeli army usually raids Palestinian areas to carry out arrests, causing significant destruction, especially in the northern West Bank camps.

Early Saturday, the Israeli army raided the city of Tulkarm and the Nur Shams refugee camp in the northern West Bank, destroying infrastructure and firing at an ambulance belonging to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, according to the society and eyewitnesses.

Simultaneously with the start of the Israeli onslaught on the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, the army escalated its operations in the West Bank, resulting in 425 deaths and around 4,700 injuries, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border attack led by Hamas, in which nearly 1,200 people were killed.

At least 30,960 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and 72,524 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza, leaving its population, particularly residents in the north where the Feb. 29 shootings took place, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

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 Rania Abu Shamala