QALQILYA, December 16, 2025 (WAFA) – Israeli occupation forces on Tuesday evening detained two Palestinians from the occupied West Bank governorates of Qalqilya and Bethlehem, according to eyewitnesses and local sources.
They said that the occupying forces showed up at a house in the northern part of Azzun town, east of Qalailya, broke inside, conducted a thorough search, and eventually rounded up a Palestinian, in his 50s.
Meanwhile, the occupation soldiers detained another Palestinian, in his 50s, at a flying checkpoint at the entrance of Umm Salamuna village, south of Bethlehem.
The detainee was identified as a resident of Beit Fajjar town.
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 9,250 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centers, including 350 child prisoners and 49 female prisoners.
This number includes approximately 3,368 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.
