Israeli army arrests 40 Palestinians in West Bank raids
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At least 40 Palestinians were rounded up by the Israeli army in military raids across the occupied West Bank, a prisoners’ rights group said Wednesday, Anadolu Agency reports.
A child and former prisoners were among the detainees in the raids that targeted the cities of Salfit, Jenin, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Nablus, Tulkarem, and Hebron, the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a statement.
Israeli forces stormed several houses, carried out abusive acts targeting Palestinians, and vandalized their properties during the raids, the statement said.
Witnesses told Anadolu that special Israeli forces, backed by military reinforcements, stormed the eastern neighborhood of Jenin city at dawn and turned a house into a military outpost.
Following the raid, the Palestinian Education Ministry suspended schools in Jenin to maintain the safety of students.
According to Palestinian figures, nearly 21,000 people have been detained by the Israeli army in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
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In the central West Bank, illegal Israeli settlers burned two vehicles belonging to Palestinians in Ramallah and painted racist slogans on the walls of homes, local sources told Anadolu.
The Israeli army has escalated its attacks in the occupied West Bank since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023.
Israeli forces and illegal settlers have killed at least 1,097 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, injured nearly 11,000, and detained around 21,000 since October 2023, according to Palestinian figures.
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.
READ: Israeli forces order demolition of 25 buildings in West Bank
