AL-KHALIL, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS) has documented 110 arrests in al-Khalil governorate, including seven children and three women, since the start of an Israeli military operation that entered its sixth consecutive day on Wednesday.
The campaign has involved sweeping closures, home raids and field interrogations of hundreds of Palestinians, while its humanitarian consequences continue to expand, including forced displacement and severe disruptions to access to employment, education and medical care.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the PPS said those arrested included dozens of former prisoners released from Israeli jails, people with disabilities and relatives of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces.
The organization described the repeated arrest of former prisoners and the targeting of their families as evidence that detention was being used as a tool of pressure and collective punishment.
According to the PPS, Israeli forces released two of the three detained women, while the third remains under interrogation at the Russian Compound detention facility, known as al-Maskobiya.
Eight relatives of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces also remain in custody after their detention was extended and they were transferred to interrogation centers.
The PPS said the military campaign extended well beyond arrests, with hundreds of residents subjected to field interrogations in streets, at checkpoints and inside their homes.
These interrogations were reportedly accompanied by physical assaults, severe beatings and other forms of mistreatment.
The organization added that road closures and tightened movement restrictions had disrupted public life and prevented residents from reaching workplaces and essential services, while other Palestinians had been forced to flee their homes.
It warned that the campaign’s consequences extend beyond those detained to their families and communities, placing further pressure on everyday living conditions.
The PPS also drew parallels between the developments in al-Khalil and patterns of mass arrests, field interrogations and displacement witnessed during previous Israeli military operations in other West Bank governorates, particularly Jenin and Tulkarem.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued their siege of the al-Jalda and Deir Bahha neighborhoods of al-Khalil on Wednesday, maintaining road closures and conducting raids on residential properties.
Witnesses reported that Israeli soldiers had entered homes whose residents were forcibly evacuated and converted several of them into military barracks.
Al-Khalil Municipality said approximately 780 families had been affected by the military operation, with nearly 5,000 Palestinians either forcibly displaced or trapped inside their homes, particularly in the two neighborhoods that have remained under strict closure since Friday.
Israeli forces also arrested four Palestinians during raids in Dura and al-Fawwar refugee camp, south of al-Khalil, after searching their homes.
On Tuesday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned that the Israeli operation in al-Khalil raised serious concerns about ethnic cleansing, citing the destruction of homes and commercial properties and restrictions on residents’ freedom of movement.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that humanitarian partners were supporting local authorities in meeting the needs of more than 3,000 Palestinians forcibly displaced from their homes since Friday.
The OCHA figure refers specifically to displaced residents, while the municipality’s estimate of approximately 5,000 people includes both those forced to leave their homes and those trapped inside them.
