New wave of Israeli military raids across the West Bank results in 22 detentions, sparking condemnation of collective punishment policies.
The Israeli army has detained at least 22 more Palestinians in raids into several areas of the occupied West Bank, according to prisoners’ affairs groups.
Former prisoners were among the detainees in the raids that targeted Bethlehem, Tubas, Tulkarem, and Ramallah, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement on Thursday.
“The arrest campaigns came amid a massive aggression launched by the occupation against our people in retaliation that falls under the crime of collective punishment,” the statement, cited by the Anadolu news agency, said.
Since the Gaza war broke out, Israeli forces have waged near-daily raids in the occupied West Bank, killing at least 845 people and making more than 14,000 arrests, often without formal charges.#Palestine #Peace #Gaza #Ceasefire #GazaStarving #SaveGaza pic.twitter.com/FP0rHOJ2gH
— Palestine International Broadcast (@PBI_PS) January 14, 2025
In the areas of Dhanaba and Ezbet Al-Jrad in the city of Tulkarm, four young Palestinian men were detained. They were identified as Mahmoud Jaber, Muhammad Al-Jrad, Nour Mar’i, and Saher Al-Basha, the Quds News Network (QNN) reported.
In the city of Ramallah, the occupation forces arrested Nour al-Din al-Arouri and Hadi al-Khasib from Aroura, and Moatasem al-Rimawi from Beit Rima, northwest of Ramallah.
Special Forces Involved
The Israeli army also raided the town of Beit Fajjar, south of the city of Bethlehem, and detained a young man, Muhammad Hammoud, after raiding and searching his family’s home. In the town of Al-Issawiya in occupied Jerusalem, a young woman was detained, the report said.
Israeli forces and settlers stormed two schools in the occupied West Bank as they step up raids and attacks against Palestinians.
At least 172 Palestinian children have been killed there since October 2023. pic.twitter.com/vWlnAPNHXZ— Palestine Info Center (@palinfoen) January 15, 2025
The occupation forces also stormed the town of Tammoun, southeast of Tubas, and raided several homes. Local sources cited by QNN said that special forces belonging to the Israeli army initially infiltrated the town, followed by military reinforcements, after leaving the Atuf Gate to the east.
The sources added that the occupation forces raided a number of Palestinian homes in the town, some of which belonged to freed detainees. No arrests were reported.
Rising Toll of Arrests
This coincided with intense and continuous flights of reconnaissance drones at low altitude in the airspace of Tubas Governorate, reported QNN.
The latest arrests brought the number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in the West Bank since October 2023 to over 14,300, including those who were released after being arrested, according to Palestinian figures, cited by Anadolu.
Israeli occupation forces detain Palestinian youths during their raid on the village of Hares in the Salfit district of the occupied West Bank.#CeasefireforGazaNOW#وقف_اطلاق_النار #جنين #غزه_تقاوم_وستنتصر_بأذن_الله #PSL10#HBLPSLDraft#TakeActionOnPetition#FreeAafia pic.twitter.com/UKEzgXmT5O
— moawiyah (@moawiyah0) January 15, 2025
The figure does not include those arrested from the Gaza Strip whose numbers are estimated to be in the thousands.
On Wednesday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that six Palestinians, including a child, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Jenin Refugee Camp in the northern West Bank.
Local sources reported that three missiles were used in the airstrike.
Settler Attacks
On Wednesday night, illegal Jewish settlers attacked the villages of Qasra and Burin, south of Nablus, under the protection of the occupation army. Several residents suffered from suffocation while repelling the attack on homes on the outskirts of the two villages.
Israeli jewish settlers burn olive trees and agriculture facilities in Madama village of Nablus and cut olive trees in Nahalin village of Bethlehem in the occupied #West_Bank! pic.twitter.com/EjFzSZHl78
— Motasem A Dalloul (@AbujomaaGaza) January 15, 2025
Local sources indicated to QNN that settlers burned a vehicle in Burin belonging to Adnan Izzat Al-Zaben. The occupation forces prevented civil defense crews from extinguishing it.
ICJ Ruling
In a landmark advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice declared in July last year that Israel’s ongoing decades-long occupation of Palestinian land was “unlawful ” and should be brought to an end “as rapidly as possible.”
Israeli Minister Calls for ‘One Million Jews’ to Settle in West Bank
The past year has seen the “highest number” of illegal Israeli settler-related incidents in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
At least 858 Palestinians have since been killed and over 6,700 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.
(PC, Anadolu, QNN)
Be the first to comment