Israel arrests over 100 Palestinians in occupied West Bank last week: Report

Israeli forces arrested over 100 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank last week, including women, children, and former detainees, a Palestinian rights group said on Friday.

The Palestinian Prisoners Society said in a statement that Israeli forces have intensified the detention drive in several West Bank areas, with a recent focus on Masafer Yatta, Al-Fawwar, and Dheisheh refugee camps in the south, as well as Jenin and Tulkarem governorates in the north, where raids have been ongoing since Jan. 21.

Arrests were frequently made in conjunction with field grilling, assaults, threats against civilians and their families, widespread infrastructure destruction, home demolitions, hostage-taking, and the conversion of civilian homes into military posts, according to the society.

The organization noted that since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, more than 15,800 Palestinians have been arrested from the occupied West Bank alone, in addition to the detention of dozens of Palestinian workers and thousands from Gaza.

“These arrests are retaliatory in nature and constitute a form of collective punishment,” the society said, adding that arrests remain “one of Israel’s most consistent and systematic policies, both in terms of numbers and the severity of accompanying violations.”

Since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli forces and illegal settlers have intensified attacks across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, killing more than 944 Palestinians and injuring around 7,000, according to official Palestinian figures.

The Israeli army has also launched a deadly offensive in the northern West Bank since January, killing more than 70 Palestinians and displacing thousands.

The International Court of Justice declared Israel’s longstanding occupation of Palestinian territories illegal in July. It demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.