Israeli forces unleash wave of arrests in occupied West Bank, 20 Palestinians detained

Israeli forces arrested 20 Palestinians in the West Bank on Tuesday in a campaign overnight in Bethlehem, Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah and Hebron.

In Nablus, Israeli forces raided the western part of the city and arrested a Palestinian in his twenties after surrounding the building he works in.

"Occupation forces entered Nablus after dawn with armoured vehicles and surrounded a building in the Rafidia neighbourhood," Ameen Abu Wardeh, a local journalist in Nablus, told The New Arab.

"They arrested a young worker and began to withdraw when Palestinian fighters opened fire on them from a long distance," said Abu Wardeh.

lsraeli occupation forces raid Nablus city and detain a Palestinian young man after invading his place in Rafidia. pic.twitter.com/Z5qFiGmgaw

— TIMES OF GAZA (@Timesofgaza) January 10, 2023

"The entire operation took less than half an hour and there were no casualties," he added. "The occupation forces have been arresting people in Nablus at an increased rate in recent weeks, as there is an arrest almost every day or two."

In the village of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron in the southern West Bank, Israeli forces arrested seven Palestinians, six of whom are former prisoners.

The arrest campaign came one day after unknown gunmen opened fire at the Israeli settlement of Karme Tsor, built on the lands of Beit Ummar, Monday evening.

Also on Monday, Palestinian fighters exchanged fire with Israeli forces while they raided the northern West Bank towns of Zababdeh and Aqaba, where two passing-by Palestinian workers were wounded by Israeli fire.

"In addition to the 20 arrests of Monday morning, the occupation forces arrested at least six Palestinians more during the day," Ayah Shreiteh, spokesperson for the Palestinian Prisoners' Club, told TNA.

video| The occupation forces raided the town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, and carried out a campaign of arrests. pic.twitter.com/ApJfwgyTmd

— Alshaimaa Ahmed (@Alshaim16087593) January 10, 2023

"It is a higher number than the daily arrests of past weeks," said Shreiteh. "There seems to be an escalation in arrests, especially against Palestinians who had been arrested before."

Last week, Palestinian human rights groups released a joint report noting that around 7,000 Palestinians were arrested by Israeli forces in 2022; half of whom were arrested only in Jerusalem.

According to the report, these include 172 women and 882 children, while Israeli forces issued some 1,228 administrative detention orders, including new detentions and extensions of ongoing detention without charges.