Israeli forces have arrested 16 Palestinians during a series of raids across the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office said.
According to a statement received by Anadolu, Israeli troops conducted arrests on Friday, targeting 16 residents from various areas of the West Bank.
The arrests were concentrated in the governorates of Ramallah in the central West Bank and Hebron in the south, as well as in Jenin and Nablus in the north and in Bethlehem and Jericho in the south and east, the office said.
The office added that Israeli forces stormed homes, searched them, and detained several Palestinians.
The ongoing arrests reflect “Israel’s continued policy of mass detention” against Palestinians, noting that those detained include former prisoners, rights advocates and young men, the office said.
Arrests have continued throughout the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, particularly around suhoor, the pre-dawn meal before fasting and morning prayer, the office said.
At the same time, Israeli forces deployed additional military reinforcements across parts of the occupied West Bank, including armoured vehicles, and positioned them at the entrances to towns and refugee camps during the raids.
Witnesses said Israeli troops conducted searches inside residential neighbourhoods and carried out field interrogations of several residents, while also turning some homes into temporary military outposts.
Violence in the occupied West Bank has escalated since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, with Israeli forces and illegal Israeli settlers carrying out attacks that include killings, arrests, property destruction, home demolitions, displacement and settlement expansion.
Those attacks have killed at least 1,121 Palestinians and injured about 11,700 others, in addition to the arrest of nearly 22,000 Palestinians.
Palestinians warn that the violations could pave the way for Israel to formally annex the occupied West Bank, effectively ending the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state as envisioned in UN resolutions.
The international community and the UN consider the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, an occupied Palestinian territory and view Israeli settlements there as illegal under international law.
