Jerusalem: Israeli forces Saturday detained several Palestinian workers from Sur Baher town, south of the occupied West Bank city of Jerusalem, according to the Jerusalem Governorate. It said in a press release that the occupying forces rounded up several workers holding West Bank identity cards while the latter were in Sur Baher.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, earlier this evening, the occupying forces rounded up two minors from Qaryout village, southeast of Nablus. In the predawn hours, the occupation forces rounded up at least eight Palestinians in multiple raids across the West Bank.
Israeli forces detained two brothers from their dwellings in Wadi al-Faw in the northern Jordan Valley, as confirmed by Kamal Bani Odeh, head of the Palestine Prisoners' Society (PPS) Office in Tubas. Four others of the eight detainees were identified as residents of al-Yamun town, west of Jenin, where the soldiers ransacked their houses. Three others were identified as residents of the city of Tulkarm, with two being detained from their vehicle on the street of the court complex, and the other near Shuweika roundabout in the city.
The occupation forces frequently conduct raids across the West Bank under the pretext of searching for 'wanted' Palestinians, leading to clashes with residents. These raids occur without search warrants, as the military exercises sweeping arbitrary powers.
Under Israeli military law, army commanders hold full authority over 3 million Palestinians living in the West Bank, who have no say in how this authority is exercised. According to the latest figures from Addameer, there are currently 10,000 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons, including 365 child prisoners and 15 female prisoners. This includes approximately 3,369 Palestinians under 'administrative detention', allowing detention without charge or trial based on undisclosed evidence.
The mass arrest of Palestinians is a long-standing issue. A 2017 report by Addameer indicates that over 800,000 Palestinians have been imprisoned or detained by Israel in the past 50 years, with current estimates approaching 1 million. This has resulted in about 40% of Palestinian men and boys living under military occupation experiencing imprisonment, affecting nearly every Palestinian family.