Israel arrests 100 Palestinians in a week as West Bank pogroms continue
The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society reports that Israeli forces detained more than 100 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank over the past week, including children, journalists and at least one ex-prisoner freed in a recent exchange. The group says the operations involved extensive home raids, property damage and alleged abuses, while settlers also carried out attacks on Palestinians and their property.
Why It Matters
The PPS’s account describes an escalation in detention operations and settler violence that the group says has produced widespread arrests and civilian harm, adding to a tally of more than 25,000 West Bank detentions since October 2023. Those developments, coupled with tensions around religious sites and holiday-related movements, raise the risk of further instability in the occupied territories.
Key Facts
- Period covered: Past week
- Number detained in the week: More than 100 Palestinians (PPS)
- Includes: Children, journalists, and former prisoners
- Named ex-prisoner detained: Ahmad al-Sayfi (formerly of Birzeit)
- Named journalists detained: Muath Amarneh and Sabri Jibril (PPS)
The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) said Israeli forces rounded up over 100 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank in the last week, naming children, journalists and former inmates among those arrested. The rights group, which monitors detentions and conditions in Israeli custody, reported that security operations had intensified across the territory. According to the PPS, the raids frequently involved extensive searches of homes, damage to property and, in some instances, the occupation of residences for military use. The group also alleged a range of mistreatment during operations, including field interrogations, physical assaults, threats against detainees’ families and, it said, some extrajudicial killings. The PPS added that families and entire neighbourhoods were sometimes swept during the raids and that detainees were at times held to exert pressure on relatives. The group identified several individuals detained during the recent operations, naming former prisoner Ahmad al-Sayfi—released in a recent exchange deal—and journalists Muath Amarneh and Sabri Jibril among those taken into custody. Local reports said 15 people were arrested in a dawn raid on Burqa northwest of Nablus after soldiers spent several hours searching homes. Other reported incidents included the temporary detention of a man in Azzun with his truck seized, a special forces raid in Beitunia that led to two arrests and reported interior damage, and the demolition of a house in Battir. Meanwhile, the PPS said settlers attacked Palestinians and their property—blocking roads, assaulting people and targeting vehicles—with those actions occurring alongside military operations. The Israeli military stated it had arrested at least 20 people in the Arroub refugee camp south of Bethlehem, alleging they were planning attacks. The PPS said that since October 2023, Israeli forces have detained more than 25,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, in addition to thousands detained in Gaza. Tensions also rose this week over access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound after reports of settlers entering and performing rituals; local and Palestinian authorities warned that upcoming Jewish holidays could be used to change longstanding arrangements at the site, and Israeli police said additional forces had been deployed across occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank ahead of the holidays.
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