Israeli forces detain 53 Palestinians in occupied West Bank

The Israeli army arrested at least 53 Palestinians early Monday during a large-scale raid on the town of Biddu, northwest of occupied Jerusalem. Those detained were kept at an interrogation and detention center they set up inside a house seized during the raid, the Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate said in a statement received by Anadolu. Israeli forces searched, vandalized, and damaged several homes and physically assaulted Palestinians, it said, adding that the military operations in the town were still ongoing. In a separate statement, the Palestinian Prisoners Society said the Israeli army subjected more than 100 Palestinians to field interrogation across the occupied West Bank over the past two days amid an increase in such operations. The operations were concentrated particularly in the towns of al-Mughayyir, east of Ramallah, and Biddu, northwest of Jerusalem, while the Israeli army released the majority of those questioned, the group said. Israeli forces continue to raid and search homes in Biddu, detain Palestinians and subject them to field interrogation, the group said. The forces also set up an interrogation and detention center inside a home they seized in the town, it added. “Dozens of young men were held inside the house amid vandalism, destruction, and physical assaults,” the group said. “Israeli forces handcuffed and blindfolded several Palestinians, with restraint marks visible on the hands of some of them,” it added. The forces also searched mobile phones, including their contents and usage, using them as a tool of abuse and pressure against Palestinians, according to the group. “Such practices also include holding Palestinians for hours and interrogating them under harsh conditions, as well as turning some homes into military posts and barracks,” it said. Palestinians were also used as “hostages and human shields,” the group said. The Palestinian Prisoners Society linked the rise in field interrogations to continued occupier violence against Palestinians and their property in parts of the occupied West Bank. “The developments reflected a simultaneous escalation in attacks and violations against Palestinians, affecting various groups, including children, women, and the elderly,” it said. The group had said in an earlier statement that field interrogation had become one of the main methods used during Israeli raids and arrest operations. In a separate development, the Al-Baidar rights organization said that Israeli occupiers were continuing to establish and expand a new settlement outpost near the Al-Masoudiya area northwest of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank. “The outpost is being established in an agriculturally important area belonging to the Palestinian village of Burqa,” the organization said, warning that it could deprive Palestinians of access to parts of their land and grazing areas. Al-Masoudiya has recently witnessed movements and attacks by Israeli occupiers, including entering and grazing on Palestinian agricultural land and attacks on Palestinian vehicles, according to rights reports,” Al-Baidar added. The organization said the expansion of agricultural and pastoral outposts poses a “direct threat” to farmers and landowners, calling for the protection of Palestinian rights and guaranteed access to their land and property. Around 750,000 Israeli occupiers live in 156 illegal settlements and 360 settlement outposts across the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. The international community considers Israeli settlements built on occupied territory illegal under international law, while Israel continues illegal settlement activity despite international criticism. The raid came a day after a shooting near the illegal Halamish settlement that killed an Israeli man and injured others, according to Israeli sources. The occupied West Bank has witnessed an escalation in Israeli raids and arrests since October 2023, alongside increasing occupier attacks, movement restrictions, and closures of entrances to Palestinian towns and villages.