Israeli forces have carried out intensive detention operations across the West Bank resulting in more than 100 Palestinian arrests within a week, according to documentation by the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society. The organization reported that detained individuals include children, former prisoners, and journalists. The detentions were accompanied by extensive home raids that involved property searches and damage, with some residences occupied by military personnel. The rights group alleged that Israeli forces employed various abusive practices during operations, including field interrogations, physical assaults, and threats directed at detainees’ families.
Among those arrested was Ahmad al-Sayfi, a former detainee who had been released through a recent prisoner exchange arrangement. Journalists Muath Amarneh and Sabri Jibril were also apprehended, alongside numerous other individuals with prior detention histories. The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society stated that detainees were sometimes held to exert pressure on their relatives, and that entire neighborhoods were subjected to sweeping raid operations.
In a specific incident, Israeli forces conducted a dawn raid on the town of Burqa on Thursday, resulting in 15 Palestinian arrests following a six-hour military operation involving home searches. The town has experienced recurring attacks by settlers and soldiers in recent weeks along with multiple home demolitions. In the Arroub refugee camp south of Bethlehem, the Israeli military reported arresting at least 20 Palestinians and stated they had been planning attacks.
The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society documented that more than 25,000 Palestinians have been detained in the West Bank since the onset of conflict in October 2023, with additional thousands arrested in Gaza. The organization also reported that Israeli settlers conducted attacks on Palestinians and their property, including assaults, road blockades, and vehicle attacks, which it characterized as occurring under protection from Israeli forces.
In occupied East Jerusalem, settlers accessed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Thursday morning to conduct religious observances. Palestinian officials and the Jerusalem Governorate expressed concern that Israeli settlers may use approaching Jewish holidays to alter the existing time-based arrangement at the site toward a spatial division structure that could effectively partition the compound.
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