Occupied West Bank Grapples with Escalating Israeli Aggression amid Gaza war
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Israeli forces have stepped up arrests of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds since the beginning of regime’s war on Gaza on October 7 that left at least 17,500 Palestinians killed and more than 43,000 injured in the enclave, reports said.
Reports indicate approximately 7,800 people have been detained in these areas over the past two months..
According to Raed Mohammed Mahmood Amer, president of the Palestinian Prisoners Society, Palestinian arrests frequently occur during protests, with detainees often accused of stone-throwing incidents against Israeli forces.
Amer highlighted the routine nature of these arrests, citing daily raids in Palestinian cities, villages, and camps, where individuals face assault during arrest operations and subsequent detention processes.
Noting that Israel had arrested a “large number of young men from the cities of the West Bank” even as the assault on Gaza continued, he said the total was “many times the number of those released” in the humanitarian pause.
A total of 2,873 are being held in administrative detention without charge or trial, usually due to suspected security concerns.
“As for the arrests in Gaza, there are a large number of people arrested by the Israeli occupation and taken to unknown places for investigation,” Amer said.
“Until now, we do not know the names and numbers due to the ongoing war,” he added, warning that their lives are in “real danger,” considering that neither the Red Cross, nor other human rights institutions are allowed to visit them.
A total of 266 Palestinians have been killed, and more than 3,365 others injured, by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank since October 7, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Moreover, settler-initiated assaults on Palestinians and their properties have soared, recording at least 308 incidents over the past two months, resulting in the displacement of 143 families, totaling over 1,000 individuals, including 388 children.
