Israeli army detains 20 Palestinians in latest occupied West Bank raids
Arrests reported in Qalqilya, Tulkarem, Jenin, Hebron, and East Jerusalem, according to sources.
The Israeli forces rounded up at least 20 Palestinians in the latest military raids in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, local sources have said.
According to the sources, two people were taken into Israeli custody in Qalqilya, seven in Tulkarem, and seven others in Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank on Monday.
Israeli forces also assaulted and detained two more Palestinians in the southern city of Hebron after raiding their homes and two others in the Wadi Qadum neighbourhood of East Jerusalem.
Israeli forces and illegal settlers have killed at least 1,102 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.
Demolishing residential buildings
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities demolished a residential building housing nearly 100 Palestinians in the occupied East Jerusalem on Monday, in the latest home demolitions in the occupied West Bank, witnesses said.
According to witnesses, Israeli municipal workers brought down the 13-apartment building in the Wadi Qadum neighbourhood on claims of lacking a building permit.
Police forces assaulted Palestinians to keep them away from the site, they added.
The 1995 Oslo II Accord divided the occupied West Bank into three administrative areas: Area A under full Palestinian control; Area B under Palestinian civil administration and Israeli security control; and Area C under full Israeli civil and security control, which covers about 61 percent of the West Bank.
Palestinians say Israel rarely grants building permits in Area C, effectively preventing construction or land development.
According to the Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission, an official body, Israel has carried out 1,014 demolitions across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since October 2023.
These demolitions have affected 3,679 structures, including 1,288 inhabited homes, 244 uninhabited homes, and 962 agricultural facilities.
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 occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.