Arab News | Israeli army detains at least 53 Palestinians in Biddu, near Jerusalem

LONDON: The Israeli army detained at least 53 Palestinians early on Monday during a large-scale raid in Biddu, a town northwest of Jerusalem, Palestinian officials and prisoner advocates have said.

Israeli forces converted a seized home into an interrogation and detention site during the operation in which dozens of young men were held, the Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate said.

Israeli troops searched several homes, damaging property and assaulting residents, according to the governorate.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society told Anadolu Agency that Israeli forces continued to raid homes in Biddu, detain residents and conduct on-site interrogations.

The group said troops handcuffed and blindfolded several Palestinians, with marks from restraints visible on some detainees’ hands. It also accused troops of searching detainees’ phones and using their contents to put pressure on them during questioning.

The group said: “Dozens of young men were held inside the house amid vandalism, destruction, and physical assaults. Israeli forces handcuffed and blindfolded several Palestinians, with restraint marks visible on the hands of some of them.”

The society said Israeli forces had subjected more than 100 Palestinians to field interrogations across the West Bank over the past two days. It said the operations were concentrated in Biddu and Al-Mughayyir, a town east of Ramallah, and that most of those questioned were later released.

The organization said Palestinians were sometimes held for hours under harsh conditions and that homes were converted into military posts or barracks during raids.

It added that Palestinians were used as “hostages and human shields.”

The group linked the increase in field interrogations to escalating Israeli violence against Palestinians and their property across the West Bank. It said the measures affected a broad range of residents, including children, women and older people.

The raids came a day after a shooting near the Halamish settlement in the West Bank that killed an Israeli man and wounded others, according to Israeli sources.

The West Bank has seen a sharp increase in Israeli raids by forces and settlers since Oct. 7, 2023. Israel launched a large-scale military campaign in the Gaza Strip following the Hamas-led attack in southern Israel.

Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have also been enduring movement restrictions and closures at the entrances to their towns and villages.