Over 600 Palestinians arrested in West Bank and Al-Quds in October, including 14 women and 42 children

In a statement, the center said Israeli forces continued carrying out mass arrest operations targeting dozens of Palestinians in villages, refugee camps, and towns. The raids involved field interrogations and physical assaults, with soldiers detaining residents inside homes they had seized and converted into temporary interrogation centers.

The center said Israeli forces released most of those detained after questioning them and threatening them against participating in activities Israeli authorities describe as “incitement” or publishing posts on social media.

In al-Khalil governorate, Israeli forces imposed a siege on the city, raided and searched hundreds of homes, and damaged their contents. Soldiers also abused residents and used some as human shields, according to the center.

A large-scale arrest campaign in al-Khalil resulted in the detention of more than 120 Palestinians, including women, children, elderly residents, and former prisoners.

Women and children arrest

Regarding the targeting of women and children, the center reported that arrests of Palestinian minors exceeded 42 during October.

It highlighted the extension of the detention of 17-year-old Nada Odeh from Tubas for another month, despite her having spent more than 10 months in Israeli custody.

The center added that the number of Palestinian child arrests since October 7, 2023, has exceeded 2,000.

Regarding women, the center said Israeli forces arrested 14 women during October, including Randa Abu Ziad, principal of Al-Eizariya Girls’ Secondary School; political activist Samar Hamad from Ramallah; and journalists Raja Jabr from Jenin and Marah Mohammad Awad from al-Khalil.

Zionist regime’s forces also rearrested two former female prisoners: Shorouq al-Badan from Bethlehem and Nuhail Abu Aisha from al-Khalil.

Other women arrested included Khawla Maatan from Ramallah and Alia Sawafteh from Nablus.

The arrests also included Saeeda Bani Odeh from Tubas, a mother of four, whom Israeli forces detained to pressure her husband into surrendering, according to the center.

Other detainees included university student Ibaa Salah Shreida from Nablus and sisters Suha and Iman Qaher Sa’abneh from Fahma village in the Jenin governorate.

In occupied Jerusalem, Israeli intelligence summoned Palestinian activist Muntaha Amara and issued her another order banning her from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque.

More than 580 administrative detention orders

Regarding administrative detention, the center reported that Israeli courts issued more than 580 administrative detention orders during October, including both new orders and extensions of existing detentions, without bringing formal charges against the prisoners.

According to the center, these decisions were issued in response to recommendations from Israel’s domestic security agency, Shin Bet, which oversees administrative detention cases.

The orders also affected children and female prisoners.

Among them was activist Samar Hamad, who was placed in administrative detention without charges just days after her arrest.

The administrative detention of underage prisoner Hanaa Hammad from al-Khalil was also renewed for the fifth time.

Life sentences and decades in prison for Palestinian detainees

The center also documented Israeli court rulings during October that imposed life sentences and prison terms of several decades on Palestinian prisoners.

Among the sentences was a life term for Nazmi Abu Bakr from Jenin, issued six years after his arrest, along with an order to pay 4.5 million shekels in financial compensation.

Israeli courts also sentenced Mohammad Walid Turkman from Jenin to 45 years in prison and Mohammad Jabr Khudair from Nablus to 25 years.

Palestinian prisoner Fadi Abu Ghraib from Al-Quds received a 12-year sentence.

The rulings also included sentences of 13 years and six months each for Omar Nidal al-Barghouthi and Muhannad Najeeb al-Rifai, both from Ramallah.

Zionist regime releases 24 Gaza captives

Regarding Palestinian detainees from the Gaza Strip, the center reported that Zionist regime’s authorities released 24 prisoners from Gaza during October after they had spent varying periods in Israeli detention facilities.

According to the center, the released detainees had been subjected to various forms of torture and abuse during their imprisonment.

Several were transferred to hospitals for treatment because of deteriorating health conditions resulting from harsh detention conditions and food deprivation.

Among those released was a prisoner whose fate had remained unknown for three years, while his family believed he had been killed at the beginning of the genocidal war.

The center said the case reflected the continued lack of accurate information about the number of Palestinians detained from Gaza, their whereabouts, and the conditions in which they are held.

In a related incident, Zionist regime’s forces abducted 60-year-old Amal Ghazi al-Rifi and her 33-year-old daughter, Yasmin Rifaat al-Rifi, at the Rafah crossing as they returned to Gaza following medical treatment in Egypt.

Their detention was subsequently extended for one month for interrogation.

Zionist regime’s forces also abducted Ahmad Kamal al-Shaer while he was returning to the Gaza Strip.

According to Palestinian human rights organizations, more than 9,400 Palestinian prisoners are currently held in Israeli prisons, including 92 women and more than 370 children.

The organizations warn that prisoners continue to face torture, starvation, and medical neglect, conditions they say have resulted in the deaths of dozens of Palestinians in Israeli custody.