IOF detain 16+ women in West Bank raids, mostly wives of prisoners

Israeli occupation forces detained at least 17 Palestinian women during large-scale dawn raids across the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, in what the Prisoners’ Media Office said is a dangerous escalation in the policy of collective punishment against prisoners’ families.

The bulk of the women were detained in Qalqilya alone, with forces entering the city from its eastern entrance and fanning out across the Kafr Saba and Al-Naqqar neighborhoods, raiding and ransacking homes.
Forces also stormed the town of Kafr Thulth, south of Qalqilya, and the village of Sanniriya before withdrawing after raids lasting approximately two hours. Another woman was detained in Salfit governorate.

Those arrested include:

Asmaa Nofal, wife of prisoner Abdullah Walwil
Amal Nofal, wife of released prisoner Mousa al-Sawi
Rafah Tabsiya, sister of journalist Ragheed Tabsiya and wife of released prisoner Mahmoud al-Kharouf
Amina al-Tawil (Shawahneh), wife of released prisoner Ali Shawahneh
Ikhlas Odeh, wife of released and deported prisoner Shadi Odeh
Dhawabi Younes, from Sanniriya, south of Qalqilya
Asmaa Houtari, wife of life-sentenced prisoner Raed Houtari
Suhad Shreim, wife of released prisoner Abdul Fattah Radwan
Asia Ahmad Merhi (45) from Qarawat Bani Hassan, west of Salfit; sister of martyr Abdul Rahman Merhi, who was killed inside Israeli prisons
The wife of released prisoner Adib Ghalban
The wife of prisoner Ahmad Radwan, a released detainee deported to Gaza
The mother of martyr Jibril Jibril
The wife of prisoner Abdul Rahman Khadraj
The wife of prisoner Abdul Haq Khadraj
The wife of released prisoner Sameh Affaneh
The wife of prisoner Abdul Fattah Khalif
Raids across the West Bank
The arrests of women were part of a broader dawn campaign spanning multiple governorates, including Ramallah, Al-Bireh, Jenin, and Tubas. In Qalqilya, forces raided and ransacked the homes of prisoner Raed Al-Houtari and martyr Jibril Jibril.
In Tubas governorate, forces stormed the town of Aqaba, deploying military patrols and infantry units across its neighborhoods. In Jenin, Israeli occupation soldiers raided a house in the Jabal Abu Dhahir area. In Beit Liqya, west of Ramallah, forces raided and searched multiple homes.

Around nine men were also detained during the campaign. In Qalqilya, forces arrested Wasim Zahran and Ayham Shehab. In Beit Liqya, Ahmad Najib Mafarja (62), Fouad Rabah Assi (40), and Mousa Nehman Assi (58) were detained, while Mohammad Imad al-Atshan (20) was detained from the Umm al-Sharayet neighborhood in al-Bireh, and Mohammad Walid Abu Rabih (35) from Al-Mazra’a al-Gharbiya, northwest of Ramallah. In Jenin, forces arrested Nasser Mahmoud Al-Sabbagh, father of martyr Mutasim al-Sabbagh, and Madin Arouq from the town of Burqin, west of the city.

16,880 violations since the start of the year
Wednesday’s raids come against the backdrop of a broader and intensifying pattern of Israeli violations across the occupied West Bank. The Palestine Information Center “Mu’ta,” an independent human rights organization, documented 16,880 violations committed by occupation forces against Palestinians since the beginning of the year.

According to a report released Tuesday, occupation forces have detained 2,065 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the year, including youths and released prisoners, with 107 expulsion orders issued from places of residence, from al-Quds, or from Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Occupation forces carried out 3,150 incursions into Palestinian cities, towns, and refugee camps, accompanied by 2,879 home raids, searches, and acts of vandalism, and the closure of 1,000 roads and intersections using checkpoints and military barriers.

29 Palestinians have been killed by live fire from occupation forces and settlers, with a further 576 wounded during violent crackdown operations, raids, and confrontations.

The report also documented 1,037 settler attacks against Palestinians and their property, including home assaults, the burning of agricultural land, and physical attacks on residents.

Occupation forces stole 76 Palestinian homes and 574 properties, including vehicles, agricultural equipment, and personal belongings. Some 669 Palestinians have been displaced as a result of escalating assaults, while 12 cases of disruption to the educational process were recorded due to raids or attacks.