Over 8k Palestinians Arrested in Occupied West Bank Since Gaza War Onset

By Staff, Agencies

The number of Palestinians arrested by “Israeli” military forces in the occupied West Bank has surged to 8,165 since October 7, when the apartheid “Israeli” entity launched its relentless offensive against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian Prisoners Society and the Commission of Detainees and ex-Detainees in a joint statement on Tuesday said that over the past 24 hours, “Israeli” forces had arrested 20 Palestinians across the West Bank.

The statement said that most of the arrests took place in Tulkarm, with additional arrests scattered across other cities, towns and refugee camps in the West Bank such as Beit Lahm, al-Khalil [Hebron], Ramallah, Nablus, Tubas and al-Quds [Jerusalem].

The arrests were made amidst reports of widespread abuse, severe beatings, threats against detainees and their families, and extensive vandalism in citizens' homes and prisoners' residences in the “Israeli” prisons.

In the aftermath of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, over 8,165 arrests were made in the West Bank, with individuals being detained from their homes, at military checkpoints, coerced into surrendering, and even taken hostage, the statement revealed.

These figures do not include the thousands of adults and children the “Israeli” army has detained, tortured and interrogated in makeshift prisons across Gaza, outside any legal or civilian oversight.

Conditions for Palestinian prisoners in “Israeli” jails have worsened considerably, with detainees experiencing extreme overcrowding and limited access to essential rights, including food, water, electricity, medical care, family visits and legal assistance.

Palestinian prisoner groups have repeatedly reported that Palestinians in “Israeli” prisons are being denied medical care, which pushes those jailed to the brink of death.

At least 10 Palestinians have died in "Israeli" prisons since the entity’s war on Gaza began, according to Palestinian news agency WAFA. But an investigation by “Israeli” daily Haaretz revealed that the number was actually at least 27. Rights groups put the number even higher.

The apartheid “Israeli” entity has intensified its attacks against Palestinians throughout the West Bank since October 7, when it launched a devastating war on the besieged Gaza Strip.

Since then, the “Israeli” forces and settlers have killed at least 459 Palestinians from the West Bank, with over 4,750 others sustaining injuries.

In the span of the past six months, at least 33,482 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Gaza. The relentless violence has also resulted in the mass displacement of the 2.3 million people inhabitants of the Gaza Strip.

Concerns have been raised regarding the fate of those who have gone missing, as they may be trapped beneath the rubble or confined within makeshift “Israeli” prisons.

The significant number of Palestinian detainees remaining in “Israeli” prisons is a crucial role in truce negotiations between Palestinian resistance group Hamas and the “Israeli” entity.

About 130 of the 250 “Israeli” captives taken during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood are still in Gaza after a provisional truce deal in December saw the exchange of a number of prisoners between the two sides.