Israeli troops arrest some 400 Palestinian civilians in September: Rights groups

Israeli military forces have reportedly arrested 378 Palestinians, including 10 women and 52 children, during separate operations across the occupied West Bank and besieged Gaza Strip in the month of September.

The Commission for Prisoners and Ex-Prisoner Affairs, the Palestinian Prisoners Society and al-Dameer Association for Human Rights, in a joint statement released on Tuesday, announced that 104 Palestinians were detained in Jerusalem al-Quds last month, while 56 others were rounded up in Ramallah and Bireh.

Moreover, 73 citizens were arrested in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, located approximately 49 kilometers (30 miles) north of Jerusalem al-Quds, another 29 in the central West Bank city of Bethlehem, 30 in Nablus, 13 others in Tulkarm, 23 citizens in the northwestern West Bank city of Qalqilya, five in the northeastern West Bank city of Tubas, seven in the small city of Salfit and three in the eastern West Bank city of Ariha (Jericho).

A total of 16 citizens were arrested across the Gaza Strip as well.

The remaining Palestinians were arrested in different cities and towns throughout the West Bank.

The statement came on the same day that Israeli forces detained 13 Palestinians, including siblings of a suspected assailant, during multiple overnight raids across the West Bank.

‘500 Palestinians in prison for social media posts’

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Center for Studies (PPC) says some 500 Palestinians are currently being held in Israeli prisons and detention centers over their social media posts.

PPC spokesman Riyadh al-Ashqar said the Israel police cyber unit is closely monitoring Palestinians’ posts on social media networks, primarily Twitter and Facebook, and classifies post that glorifies Palestinian martyrs, discloses Israeli crimes, and supports resistance as incitement of terror.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been sentenced over the past three years to different jail terms on the ground of incitement on social media, Ashqar said.

Scores of others have been placed under house arrest and denied from using social media platforms, he noted.

More than 7,000 Palestinians are reportedly held at Israeli jails. Hundreds of the inmates have apparently been incarcerated under the practice of administrative detention, a policy under which Palestinian inmates are kept in Israeli detention facilities without trial or charge.

Some Palestinian prisoners have been held in administrative detention for up to eleven years.

Palestinian inmates regularly stage hunger strikes in protest at the administrative detention policy and their harsh prison conditions in Israeli jails.

According to reports, at least 13 Palestinian lawmakers are currently imprisoned in Israeli detention facilities. Nine of them are being held without trial under administrative detention.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir