Two months have passed since the October 7 cross-border attack on Israel by Hamas fighters. During this period, relentless Israeli strikes and ground attacks have killed at least 17,000 Palestinians and injured more than 43,000 in the enclave.
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities have stepped up arrests of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Around 7,800 people have been detained in these areas over the past two months.
Palestinian detainees are typically imprisoned over allegations of hurling stones at Israeli forces and are frequently arrested during demonstrations or marches in Palestine, according to Raed Mohammed Mahmood Amer, president of the Palestinian Prisoners Society.
“On a daily basis, Palestinian cities, villages and camps are raided, during which dozens are arrested. The raids include sabotage operations, house searches, and detainees being assaulted during the arrest operations and transporting them to investigation and detention centres,” Amer said.
Noting that Israel had arrested a “large number of young men from the cities of the West Bank” even as the assault on Gaza continued, he said the total was “many times the number of those released” in the humanitarian pause.
A total of 2,873 are being held in administrative detention without charge or trial, usually due to suspected security concerns.
