HEBRON, January 25, 2025 (WAFA) – Israeli occupation forces Saturday detained at least eight Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, according to local sources.
They said that the occupying forces rounded up a woman after storming her family’s house in Beit Awwa town, west of Hebron, purportedly for preparing to celebrate the release of a loved one as part of the second batch of prisoners set free under the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Earlier today, the occupying forces rounded up the brother of a prisoner in Kafr Aqab town, north of Jerusalem.
Local sources confirmed that six others were detained in multiple raids across the West Bank.
They confirmed a raid in Odala village, south of Nablus, where the soldiers beat a minor up and detained him.
Israeli occupying troops detained two other Palestinians from the Nablus neighborhoods of al-Jabal ash-Shamali and al-Ein refugee camp.
A similar raid was conducted in the city of Qalqilya, leading to the detention of four others.
The occupation forces frequently raid Palestinian houses almost daily across the West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians, triggering clashes with residents.
These raids are conducted with no need for a search warrant, whenever and wherever the military chooses in keeping with its sweeping arbitrary powers.
Under Israeli military law army commanders have full executive, legislative and judicial authority over 3 million Palestinians living in the West Bank. Palestinians have no say in how this authority is exercised.
According to the latest figures from Addameer, the Palestinian Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, there are currently 10,400 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centres, including 320 child prisoners and 88 female prisoners.
This number includes approximately 3,376 Palestinians placed under “administrative detention”, which allows the detention of Palestinians without charge or trial for renewable intervals ranging between three and six months based on undisclosed evidence that even a detainee’s lawyer is barred from viewing.
The mass arrest of Palestinians is nothing new. According to a 2017 report by Addameer, over the past 50 years, more than 800,000 Palestinians have been imprisoned or detained by Israel, this figure is now believed to be closer to 1 million. This means that about 40% of Palestinian men and boys living under military occupation have been deprived of their freedom. Almost every Palestinian family has suffered the imprisonment of a loved one.
K.F.
