Israeli forces detain, interrogate 95 Palestinians amid West Bank olive harvest, rights group says

- Israeli forces detained or interrogated 95 Palestinians during West Bank raids, Palestinian Prisoners’ Society says

- Operations affected Aqaba, Madama, Yatta, and Qalqilya, targeting former prisoners and their families

LONDON: Israeli forces detained or interrogated around 95 Palestinians during raids across the occupied West Bank overnight and into Thursday morning, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said.

Most of those targeted underwent field interrogations, the group said.

The operations were concentrated in Aqaba in the Tubas governorate, Madama in the Nablus governorate and Yatta in southern Hebron, with additional raids in Jenin, Bethlehem and Al-Bireh, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

In Qalqilya, Israeli forces conducted a separate sweep targeting former prisoners and their families, including the mother of a former prisoner and the wife of a current prisoner, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said.

Troops also raided and ransacked dozens of homes, including that of Muayyad Shaaban, head of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission.

The society said troops assaulted residents and damaged household belongings during the operations, which it described as part of an escalating use of force against Palestinians.

The raids come during the olive harvest season and amid a surge in Israeli settler attacks on Palestinian towns and villages.

The surge has been seen since Oct. 7, 2023, when Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza following a Hamas-led attack. There have been almost 15,000 attacks by settlers since that date, with 66 Palestinians killed by settlers, according to the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission.

According to UN figures, the rate of settler attacks rose from about three a day before October 2023 to almost seven per day in 2026.

The society described mass detentions and field interrogations as tools Israel uses to control Palestinians, alongside raids, home demolitions and attacks on residents and their property.

It said those practices had escalated to an unprecedented degree since the start of the war in Gaza, adding that Israeli forces and settlers were acting in coordination to tighten control over Palestinian land and communities.

The society said it had recorded more than 26,000 detentions in the West Bank since the war began, in addition to thousands in Gaza. Israel announced on Wednesday that it had carried out 46,000 detentions and interrogations in the West Bank over the same period.

The society’s tally counts detentions, while Israel’s includes interrogations.

The group warned that a lack of international accountability was enabling further abuses. It urged the international community and human rights organizations to hold Israel accountable for alleged violations, including mass detentions, torture, deliberate killings and settlement activity.