Israeli forces have detained about 18,500 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem, since it launched its genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, according to a new report.
At least 570 Palestinian women and at least 1,500 children are among the detained, a joint report by the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, and Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association said. This is the highest number of detentions since the second Intifada in 2000.
More than 194 journalists have also been detained, 49 of whom are still behind bars. “The arrest campaigns have been accompanied by severe violations and acts of violence, including physical assaults, torture, threats against detainees and their families, the looting and destruction of property, and widespread damage to civilian homes and infrastructure. Vehicles, personal funds, and gold have also been confiscated,” the report found.
“In parallel with these campaigns, Israeli forces have conducted extrajudicial executions, including targeting relatives of detainees,” it said.
The report added that since the start of the war, at least 75 detainees have died in Israeli custody, 46 of whom were from Gaza.
