HEBRON, Palestine / ISTANBUL

The Israeli army detained 40 Palestinians in military raids in the southern West Bank on Thursday, witnesses said.

Large army forces stormed and searched dozens of homes in the Dura town of Hebron city, arresting several young people, the witnesses said.

Israeli forces interrogated dozens of Palestinians during the raids before releasing some of them, they added.

According to the Commission of Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society, Israel has arrested more than 20,000 Palestinians since October 2023, while over 9,100 remain detained, in addition to hundreds held in military camps.

During the same period, attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers in the occupied West Bank have killed at least 1,070 Palestinians and injured over 10,700 others.

In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.