Israeli forces have continued to detain over 100 Palestinians across the West Bank, with the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) reporting a significant increase in detentions, including children, as pogroms intensify in the occupied territory. The Palestinian Rights Group, tracking these detentions and conditions, stated on Thursday that Israeli forces have intensified operations, alleging a range of abuses including field interrogations, physical assaults, threats against detainees’ families, and, in some cases, extrajudicial killings. The group highlighted extensive home raids during these operations, searching and damaging properties and occupying homes for military use. According to the PPS, Palestinians were frequently held to pressure relatives and that entire neighborhoods were swept during raids. Children were also arrested, the group claimed, and the PPS noted that Israeli forces have detained over 25,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, with thousands more in Gaza, since Israel’s genocidal war began in October 2023. A dawn raid on Thursday, reported by Wafa news agency, resulted in the arrest of 15 Palestinians in the town of Burqa in the West Bank, following a six-hour storming by Israeli forces. Wafa reported that soldiers breached the town’s defenses and stormed it for six hours, raiding homes and arresting owners before withdrawing. Burqa, located northwest of Nablus, has been subjected to frequent attacks by settlers and soldiers, and numerous home demolitions. Israeli forces also detained Salloum Radwan, a young man from the town of Azzun, east of Qalqilya, for several hours and seized his truck, Wafa reported. Al Jazeera correspondent Givara Budeiri, reporting from Ramallah, stated that Israeli special forces also raided the town of Beitunia, near central Ramallah, on Thursday, entering an apartment and arresting two Palestinian men. Budeiri said they caused damage and destruction inside the home, transferring the two men to an Israeli prison, and subsequently withdrew. Budeiri further reported that Israeli forces demolished a house in Battir, west of Bethlehem. The Israeli military declared that at least 20 Palestinians were arrested in the Arroub refugee camp, south of Bethlehem, alleging they were planning attacks. The Jerusalem Governorate warned that Israeli settlers could exploit upcoming Jewish holidays to shift from a longstanding time-based division of the site towards a spatial one, effectively partitioning the compound. The Palestinian presidency and Foreign Ministry issued similar warnings, emphasizing that the entire site is an Islamic holy place. Israeli police reported that they had deployed additional forces across occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank ahead of the holidays. The situation has been described as escalating as Palestinian militant groups have repeatedly attacked Israeli civilians and property, including assaults, road blockades, and attacks on vehicles, with Israeli forces providing protection. This incident follows a string of attacks on Palestinians and their property, including home demolitions, and a recent wave of Israeli military operations in the West Bank. The PPS estimates that over 25,000 Palestinians are currently detained in the West Bank, with thousands more in Gaza, since Israel’s genocidal war began in October 2023. The Israeli government has stated that the arrests are a response to ongoing violence and the need to ensure the security of the occupied territory. The situation continues to deteriorate, with reports of increased settler violence and heightened tensions in the West Bank.
Source: Al Jazeera
