Qais Abu Samra
17 October 2023•Update: 17 October 2023
RAMALLAH, Palestine
The Israeli army on Tuesday detained 55 Palestinians, including several parliamentarians, most notably Parliament Speaker Aziz Dweik, during raids across the occupied West Bank, a known rights group confirmed.
Amani Sarahneh, a spokeswoman for the Palestinian Prisoners Society, told Anadolu that the Israeli arrests included senior figures from the Hamas group and former Palestinian parliamentarians, including Speaker Aziz Dweik.
The Israeli army has yet to comment on the arrests.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners Society, approximately 6,000 Palestinians are currently being held in Israeli jails.
Eleven days into the conflict with Palestinian group Hamas, Israel's bombardment and blockade of the Gaza Strip has continued, with over one million people displaced – almost half of Gaza's total population, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
The fighting began when Hamas on Oct. 7 initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel by land, sea, and air. It said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased violence by Israeli settlers.
The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.
At least 2,808 Palestinians, including 750 children, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, while the death toll from such Israeli attacks in the West Bank has reached 60.
More than 1,400 Israelis have been killed in the armed conflict.
* Writing by Ahmed Asmar
