19,000 Palestinians detained in West Bank since war on Gaza began: PPS

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
Today 00:23
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The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society says dozens have died in custody and many Gaza detainees have been forcibly disappeared.

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Palestinian prisoners are greeted as they exit a Red Cross bus after being released from Israeli prison following a ceasefire agreement between "Israel" and the Palestinian Resistance, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on February 8, 2025 (AP)

Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have carried out more than 19,000 detentions in the West Bank, including occupied al-Quds, since the start of the ongoing genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) reported Friday.

The figures exclude detentions from Gaza, which are believed to be in the thousands. The data include both those still imprisoned and those later released.

Women, children among detainees

According to the PPS, at least 585 Palestinian women have been detained since the war on Gaza began, comprising women from both the 1948 territories and the West Bank. The number does not include dozens more women detained from Gaza.

The report also documented the detention of at least 1,550 Palestinian children in the West Bank during the same period.

Deaths in custody

The rights group confirmed that at least 77 Palestinians have died while in Israeli custody since October 2023. Among them are 46 detainees from Gaza, whose identities have been publicly disclosed.

The PPS added that dozens more detainees from Gaza have died in Israeli prisons and military camps, but occupation authorities have withheld their names and the circumstances of death, keeping them under enforced disappearance.

The bodies of 74 detainees who died during the war remain withheld, part of a total of 85 Palestinian detainees whose remains are still being held by "Israel".

Enforced disappearances from Gaza

The PPS stressed that there is no clear estimate of the total number of Palestinians detained from Gaza, due to "Israel’s" systematic policy of enforced disappearance.

The only official figure released by Israeli prison authorities is 2,662 detainees classified as “unlawful combatants". However, rights groups estimate that the real number is in the thousands.