Tally of Palestinians detained in occupied West Bank rises to 3,760

The Israeli forces rounded up 30 Palestinians in raids across the West Bank, bringing the number of Palestinian detainees in the occupied territory to 3,760 since Oct. 7, a local non-governmental organisation has said.

The Palestinian Prisoners Society and the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs said in a joint statement on Monday that the arrests were marked by harassment, severe beatings, and threats against detainees and their families, along with acts of sabotage and destruction in the homes of Palestinians.

Meantime, illegal Israeli settlers confronted olive pickers in the town of Aqraba, southern Nablus, firing live rounds to intimidate and force them to leave their lands, according to the Palestinian Wafa news agency.

Israeli occupation forces and settlers have carried out a total of 333 attacks against olive pickers since the beginning of the season in October, the agency said, citing the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission.

Full siege

It said the occupation forces and settlers prevented citizens from accessing an area of 500,000 dunams (a measure of land area) of their lands, including 200,000 dunams surrounded by settlements and 300,000 dunams isolated behind the separation wall.

Arrests and settler violence in the occupied West Bank have particularly risen since the Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

Since the early October, Israel has killed nearly 18,000 people, including women and children, in Gaza besides leaving a vast trail of destruction and implementing a full siege in the enclave.