Israeli military forces launched a new arrest campaign across the West Bank in the early hours of Monday and arrested dozens of Palestinians in multiple raids, in what aid agencies describe as “deteriorating conditions” since the war began in Gaza on October 7.
Palestinian media outlets, citing local sources speaking on condition of anonymity, reported that Israeli forces stormed Kafr Ni’ma town, located 13 kilometers (8 miles) northwest of Ramallah, and the town of Bani Na’im in the early hours of Monday morning, and arrested at least 50 Palestinians.
Six Palestinians were also detained in the northern West Bank village of Jaba’, while five others were rounded up throughout the Nablus governorate, including Askar and Balata refugee camps, the reports said.
The reports also added that, in the village of al-Asakra, located 4.5 kilometers southeast of Bethlehem, the regime’s forces arrested a Palestinian, identified as Muhammad Ali Asakrah, after raiding and searching his father’s house.
Similar raids were also reported in the city of Beitunia and the Al-Arroub refugee camp.
Local sources told the official Palestinian news agency WAFA that Israeli troops stormed the al-Arroub camp late on Sunday, forcing shop owners to close their shops.
Confrontations then broke out between the camp residents and Israeli forces, with the latter firing live bullets, stun grenades, and tear gas canisters to disperse the crowd.
Israeli forces launch raids on various cities of the West Bank almost on a daily basis under the pretext of detaining what it calls “wanted” Palestinians. The raids usually lead to violent confrontations with residents.
Since the war broke out in the Gaza Strip on October 7, Israel has intensified its raids and arrest campaigns throughout the occupied territories.
“Conditions in the West Bank have deteriorated sharply in the weeks since the October 7 attack [in Gaza], mostly in an acceleration of pre-existing trends,” the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned in a statement on Friday.
According to OCHA Israeli soldiers and, in some cases, settlers have killed 216 Palestinians in the West Bank since 7 October, bringing the total killed in 2023 to date to 426, far more than the 170 killed in 2022, the year the UN declared the deadliest since 2006.
Palestinian Prisoner rights group Addameer also reported that before October 7, there were about 5,200 Palestinians in Israeli custody. However, after Operation al-Aqsa Strom followed by Israel’s bombardment campaign against the besieged enclave, the number of Palestinians arrested skyrocketed and 3,000 more were arrested.
Of those arrested after the war erupted in Gaza 145 are children, 95 are women and 37 are journalists. Addameer said that most of the detained journalists were subjected to administrative detention, which means they are held indefinitely behind bars without facing trial or charges.
The prisoner’s rights group highlights that the detainees are subjected to physical violence and medical negligence in prisons.
The arrests also come amid a 4-day truce between Israel and Hamas after seven weeks of fighting.
As part of the temporary truce which went into effect on Friday, Israel and Hamas began exchanging Palestinian prisoners with Israeli prisoners of war who are held captive in Gaza by resistance groups after the events of October 7.
Over the course of the temporary truce, Hamas is set to release at least 50 Israeli hostages and Israel 150 Palestinians.
On Sunday, Israel and Hamas completed the third day of swaps. So far three batches of Palestinian prisoners, each including 39 individuals, were freed.
Hamas has also handed over 39 Israeli captives and a number of foreign nationals since Friday.
