Israeli forces arrested 20 Palestinians during widespread overnight raids across the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, including three former prisoners, according to the Sond News Agency.
The arrests took place in several cities, towns and refugee camps, particularly in Nablus, Qalqilya, Hebron and Jenin, as Israeli forces carried out extensive searches of Palestinian homes.
In Nablus, five Palestinians were arrested during raids across several neighbourhoods. They were identified as Nour al-Din Halawa, former prisoner Nidal Abu Rumaila, Ihab Khamis Mansour, Raed Khuraim and Kinan Istitiya. Israeli forces also raided and searched a house in the al-Dahiya neighbourhood, east of the city, using a special military unit.
In the Jenin governorate, forces continued their raid on the town of Mithlon and arrested Ali Khaled Abu Bakr from his home in Ya’bad, southwest of Jenin. Mohammed Jihad Abu Zeina was also arrested from his family home on Nablus Street in Jenin city.
In Qalqilya, brothers Tareq and Alaa al-Aqra were arrested during a raid on the city. Israeli forces also detained Ahmad Khader Maraabe from his home in Kafr Thulth, east of Qalqilya, and Mohammed Radwan during a raid on Azzun, also east of the city.
In the Hebron governorate, arrests included Mohammed Talal al-Mayu’i from al-Fawwar refugee camp, south of Hebron, and Mahmoud Walid Amr from al-Majd village, west of Dura.
Other detainees identified in the report included Thaer Oweidat from al-Arroub refugee camp, Musab Faisal Dodeen from Imreish village, Abdulmuhaymin Mohammed Abu Sneineh and Jamal Fares Jamal Badawi from Yatta, Naseem Ahmad Abu Turki from Hebron city, and Jihad Dawood Musa Tarayreh from Bani Na’im.
Palestinian security sources said troops searched homes and damaged or tampered with their contents during the operations.
The latest arrests come amid continued Israeli military raids across West Bank cities, towns, villages and refugee camps, frequently accompanied by house searches, field interrogations and detentions.
Arrests increased in October
According to a statistical report by the International Association for Solidarity with Palestinian Prisoners (Tadhamon), 804 arrests and re-arrests were recorded across the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, during October.
The figure represented a 20 per cent increase compared with September. Hebron recorded the highest number, with 322 cases, followed by Nablus with 134 and Qalqilya with 118.
Separately, the Palestine Center for Prisoners Studies documented more than 600 arrests across the West Bank and Jerusalem during October, including 14 women and 42 children.
