Israel rounds up 25 more Palestinians in West Bank raids

RAMALLAH, Palestine

The Israeli army on Thursday detained 25 more Palestinians in military raids across the occupied West Bank, according to prisoners’ affairs groups.

The arrests took place in the cities of East Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Nablus, Jenin and Salfit, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement.

The new arrests have brought the total number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in the West Bank since last October to 8,665, according to Palestinian figures.

Tensions have been running high across the West Bank since Israel launched a deadly military offensive against the Gaza Strip, where more than 34,900 people have been killed following a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

Nearly 500 Palestinians have since been killed and around 4,900 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which in January issued an interim ruling that ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar