Israel arrests 40 Palestinians in widespread West Bank raids

RAMALLAH, Palestine

Israeli forces rounded up 40 Palestinians, including two women, in a series of pre-dawn raids across the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office said.

The non-governmental office reported that the arrests focused on the northern Qalqilya, central Ramallah, and southern Hebron governorates, as well as East Jerusalem.

Israeli troops conducted house searches and inspections in several neighborhoods.

The office accused Israeli forces of “continuing a policy of escalated mass arrests,” targeting former prisoners, women, and minors, with a clear focus on northern and central West Bank areas.

These arrests “are part of repeated large-scale raids and field investigations within residential neighborhoods,” amid a surge in military activity across the West Bank, it added.

Since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza on Oct. 8, 2023, the Israeli army and illegal settlers have intensified attacks in the West Bank, including killings, arrests, home and property demolitions, forced displacement, and settlement expansion.

At least 1,121 Palestinians have since been killed, around 11,700 injured, and roughly 22,000 detained, according to Palestinian figures.

Palestinians warn that these violations aim to pave the way for Israel to annex the West Bank, effectively ending the possibility of a Palestinian state as recognized in United Nations resolutions.

The international community and the UN consider the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as occupied Palestinian territory. Israeli settlement activity in the area is deemed illegal under international law.

*Writing by Lina Altawell in Istanbul