Israel arrests 15 more Palestinians in West Bank raids

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – The Israeli army rounded up at least 15 Palestinians in raids in the occupied West Bank, according to prisoners’ affairs groups.

A woman and a child were among the detainees in the raids that targeted East Jerusalem, Jericho, Hebron, Tulkarm, Qalqilya and Ramallah, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement.

The new arrests have brought the number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in the West Bank since October last year to over 12,100, 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 several thousands.

Over the past few years, the Israeli military has conducted regular raids in the West Bank, which have escalated with the beginning of the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023. Palestinians have also been violently attacked by illegal Israeli settlers.

Israel follows the controversial policy of administrative detention, according to which people can be arrested indefinitely on the basis of mere suspicion, without warrant, bail or access to a court of law.

At least 815 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 6,500 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

The escalation follows a landmark opinion in July by the International Court of Justice that declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian land “illegal” and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.