“Israeli” Forces Detain 442 Palestinians in West Bank During October

By Staff, Agencies

“Israeli” forces carried out a sweeping arrest campaign across the West Bank in October, detaining 442 Palestinians in what rights groups describe as an intensified policy of repression in the occupied territories.

According to joint data from Palestinian prisoners’ organizations, Bethlehem saw the highest number of arrests, with the campaign targeting a wide range of civilians — including three women and 33 children.

The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, and Addameer reported that these arrests occurred during frequent “Israeli” military raids, which were often accompanied by on-the-spot interrogations in Palestinian towns and neighborhoods.

The groups also noted that more than 9,250 Palestinian political prisoners and detainees are currently held in “Israeli” prisons. Most are kept indefinitely without formal charges or trial under administrative detention or held pending investigation — a system that effectively immobilizes large segments of Palestinian society.

This figure excludes the thousands detained from Gaza, many of whom have been transferred to undisclosed “Israeli” detention camps, including the notorious “Sde Teiman” facility, where detainees effectively disappear inside the entity’s prison system.