Israel detained 20,000 Palestinians in West Bank since 7 October 2023

Israel has detained 20,000 people in the occupied West Bank since the war in Gaza began two years ago, according to research by Palestinian rights monitors marking the anniversary of the conflict.

The report, published by the Prisoners and Detainees Affairs’ Commission, the Palestinian Prisoners' Club, and Addameer, said that 1,600 children and 595 women were among those detained.

The figures do not include Gaza, where thousands of people have been abducted by Israeli forces and held incommunicado in military camps.

At least 77 Palestinians have died in custody over the past two years due to torture, malnutrition, and denial of medical care, the report said.

It is unknown how many people taken from Gaza have died in Israeli detention facilities.

The organisations accused Israeli authorities of war crimes and crimes against humanity, saying that witness testimony and physical evidence point to the widespread use of torture, sexual assault, starvation and medical neglect.

Among the thousands detained in the West Bank were 360 medical workers and 202 journalists, according to the report.

A UN report last year said that a "staggering number" of Palestinians had been detained since 7 October, many of whom were being held without charge in "deplorable" conditions.

The UN's human rights chief Volker Turk accused Israeli authorities of committing "flagrant violations" of international law based on personal testimonies of mistreatment and abuse.

There are currently 11,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, many without charge, the organisations said, the highest number since the outbreak of the Second Intifada in 2000.

This came as Israeli forces detained at least 15 Palestinians in a refugee camp near Ramallah on Tuesday morning.

Large-scale raid on the El-Bireh and Jalazone camp, north of the city, saw more detentions according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

Troops locked down several towns in the governorate, including Atara and Deir Ammar, according to security sources.

On the same day, settlers and Israeli troops destroyed 150 olive trees in the village in Masafer Yatta, an area in the south Hebron Hills that has been targeted by extremist settlers for years.