Israel arrests 10 more Palestinians in West Bank Bringing the tally nearly to 4,700

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has rounded up 10 more Palestinians in the West Bank, taking the tally since 7 October to 4,695, according to prisoners’ affairs groups.

One woman was among those arrested during military raids carried out in the cities of Hebron, Bethlehem, Nablus, and Jenin, the Commission for Detainees and Ex-Prisoners’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement, according to Middle East Monitor.

The figure of detainees does not include those arrested by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, the statement said.

While the world’s attention is focused on Gaza, where Israeli attacks since the October 7 attack by Hamas have killed at least 20,424 Palestinians and led to a humanitarian catastrophe, violence in the occupied West Bank has grown.

More than 300 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli army fire and in attacks by illegal Jewish settlers since October 7, according to Palestinian figures.

Meanwhile, Israeli authorities are reported to be considering the possibility of refusing to kill the leaders of the radical Palestinian movement Hamas in exchange for hostages held in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli leadership is studying the possibility of granting immunity to the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, and the head of the movement's military wing, Mohammed al-Deif.

Then, in exchange for the release of the hostages, they will be deported to Qatar or another country. The interlocutors of the channel noted that this possibility is being discussed by the military and political leadership of Israel, but there are still no definite proposals.

Sinwar has been leading Hamas since 2017 and replaced Ismail Haniyeh, who currently lives in Qatar and is the chairman of the organisation’s political bureau, as the leader of the radicals.