Israeli occupation forces have escalated their campaign of detentions in the West Bank, detaining at least 20 Palestinians, including children and former prisoners, over the past 24 hours, according to a statement from the Palestinian Authority’s Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society.

The arrests were carried out across multiple West Bank governorates, including Hebron, Bethlehem, Tulkarm, Jericho, Ramallah, and Jerusalem. Palestinian communities have reported a surge in violent raids, which often target civilians indiscriminately, causing widespread fear and disruption.

Among the gravest incidents was the execution of Hassan Ali Rabay’a, a 40-year-old resident of Meithalun in the Jenin district. Israeli forces surrounded Rabay’a’s home, opened heavy gunfire, and detained him before later announcing his death. His body remains in Israeli custody, denying his family the opportunity to lay him to rest.

Rabay’a’s family has already endured immense loss; his son, 15-year-old Ali Rabay’a, was killed by Israeli occupation forces in July of last year during a raid on their town.

Palestinian officials and human rights advocates have condemned these actions as part of Israel’s systematic policy of collective punishment aimed at silencing resistance and dismantling any form of Palestinian political expression. The mass detentions, home demolitions, and violent raids are core components of the occupation’s strategy to suppress the Palestinian people and perpetuate its control over occupied territories.

This surge in detentions coincides with Israel’s ongoing genocidal aggression in Gaza, which began in October 2023. Since then, the Israeli occupation has intensified its repressive measures across the West Bank, further targeting civilians and activists in a coordinated effort to undermine Palestinian resistance.

The Palestinian leadership has called on the international community to intervene and hold Israel accountable for its systematic violations of international law, including the detention of children and the continued use of excessive force against unarmed civilians. (ILKHA)