Ramallah: Palestinian Prisoners' Institutions revealed that Israeli occupation forces carried out 3,850 arrests in the occupied West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, during the first half of this year, amid an unprecedented escalation in violations inside occupation detention centers and camps. The arrestees include approximately 400 children and 125 women.
According to Qatar News Agency, the institutions, namely the Commission of Prisoners' and Ex-Prisoners' Affairs, the Palestinian Prisoners' Club, and Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, stated in their semi-annual statistical report today that the arrest campaigns carried out during this period were accompanied by serious violations, including field investigations, physical abuse, forced detention, theft of property, and the detention of citizens as human shields, in addition to attacks on and vandalism of homes, particularly in Jenin and Tulkarm, which recorded the highest number of arrests, with 920 and 455 cases, respectively. The report indicated that March saw the highest number of arrests, reaching 800 cases, covering various categories, with a focus on youth and former prisoners.
It indicated that the occupation continued to expand its use of administrative detention, with the number of administrative detainees reaching 3,629 by the beginning of July, including 87 children and 10 women. Meanwhile, 2,454 detainees were classified as "unlawful combatants," the highest number since the beginning of the last war.
The institutions recorded the deaths of 19 detainees during the first half of the year, including ten from the Gaza Strip and nine from the West Bank. The report explained that there are numerous field testimonies documented by the institutions regarding the circumstances of the deaths, medical violations, and cruel treatment, while the occupation authorities continue to withhold the bodies of detainees, particularly from the Gaza Strip.
According to the report, the number of detainees in Israeli prisons rose to approximately 10,800 by the beginning of July 2025, the highest number since 2000, excluding those held in military camps. Among the detainees are at least 50 female prisoners and 450 children. The report also noted the continued spread of diseases inside prisons, such as scabies, due to harsh detention conditions and poor medical services, leading to the deterioration of the health of thousands of prisoners.
Updated data indicates that the number of arrests in the West Bank and Jerusalem since the beginning of the recent war has exceeded 18,000. The number of women arrested since October 7 has exceeded 560, compared to more than 1,450 children.
Prisoner organizations emphasized that these figures reflect the escalation of the occupation's policies and systematic violations, both inside prisons and during arrest operations, calling for immediate international action to protect prisoners and hold accountable those responsible for these crimes.