Israeli army arrests 20 more Palestinians across occupied West Bank

The Israeli army on Wednesday detained 20 more Palestinians during raids across the occupied West Bank, prisoners' affairs groups said.

The Commission of Detainees' Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement that the arrests took place in the cities of Hebron, Jenin, Bethlehem, and Qalqilya, during which Israeli forces assaulted and threatened the detainees and their family members, as well as vandalized their homes.

The new arrests bring the total number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in the West Bank since October last year to 9,400, including those who were released after being arrested, according to Palestinian figures.

Over the past few years, the Israeli military has conducted regular raids in the West Bank, which have escalated with the beginning of the war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. Palestinians have also been violently attacked by illegal Israeli settlers.

At least 553 Palestinians, including 133 children, have since been killed and nearly 5,200 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

Israel stands accused of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice, which, in its latest ruling, has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.