Israel detains 14 Palestinians in occupied West Bank raids

The UN says about 5,000 Palestinians have been arrested since October 7

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Israeli forces have detained at least 14 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including a wounded boy who was arrested from an ambulance on Friday evening.

The arrests took place in Al Jalazoun Camp in Ramallah, Nablus and Hebron, the Palestinian Prisoner's Society said.

It said the arrests involved severe beatings, threats against detainees and their families, the destruction of homes and confiscation of vehicles.

Israeli forces also stormed and vandalised the home of prisoner Mahmoud Radaida from Bethlehem, who has been detained since 2002, the organisation said.

Palestinian state news agency Wafa had earlier reported that the raids took place on Saturday morning.

The incursions continue a trend of a marked sharp rise in violence and arrests by Israel against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank as Israeli's war on Gaza goes on.

On Friday, the Israeli military said it detained 12 people, including two it claimed were associated with Hamas.

That came a day after the UN criticised the increasing violence in the area in the wake of October 7, when Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel. Israeli forces in response have pummelled Gaza, killing more than 21,500 people.

Israel says it has arrested about 2,550 people in the occupied West Bank since the outbreak of the Gaza war, but the UN says the figure is much higher, reporting the detention of around 4,785 Palestinians.

The period has also seen a rise in settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

On Thursday, the UAE called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the deteriorating situation in the occupied West Bank.

Shahad Matar, spokeswoman for the UAE mission to the UN, said settler violence and frequent Israeli raids put the “political horizon” for Palestine and Israel “at severe risk”.