Israeli arrests on rise in the West Bank, rights group warns
The Palestine Center for Prisoner Studies has reported a sharp increase in Zionist regime’s mass arrest campaigns carried against Palestinian civilians in recent months. The arrests are often followed by harsh field interrogations before the majority of detainees are released.
Center director Riyad Al-Ashqar stated that these actions are part of a retaliatory policy aimed at instilling fear and deterrence through unlawful methods. He stressed that the mass arrests show a blatant disregard for Palestinian suffering and violate international law, which prohibits arbitrary detention and requires clear legal charges.
Al-Ashqar pointed out that the period following the genocide in Gaza has seen a notable escalation in Zionist regime’s raids on villages and refugee camps in the West Bank.
During these night raids, Zionist regime’s forces storm homes violently, deliberately destroy property, and seize money and gold. They also detain dozens of young men, dragging them out blindfolded and handcuffed in humiliating conditions, some even in their sleepwear.
He noted that during such operations, the Israeli military often seizes homes and converts them into military posts and field interrogation centers, where detainees are separated and questioned for hours under duress and threats.
Most towns and villages in the West Bank have not been spared from these practices, Al-Ashqar added, citing the recent large-scale raid in the city of Tammun, south of Tubas, where more than 300 people, including the mayor, were arrested.
He emphasized that nearly all detainees were subjected to at least one form of torture following their arrest, calling the situation collective punishment and a war crime against unarmed civilians.
The Palestine Center urged international human rights and humanitarian organizations to intervene immediately to stop these violations and pressure Israel to end the policy of arbitrary arrests carried out without charges or legal justification.