Palestinians inspect the destruction following a raid by Israeli forces in the Tulkarem camp for Palestinian refugees, in the occupied Palestinian West Bank.AFP
Early Wednesday, the health ministry announced that three Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces during raids in the cities of Tulkarm, Tubas, and Qalandiya, raising the number of fatalities in the West Bank to 11 during the last 24 hours.
On 19 July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian lands as “unlawful,” saying it should be brought to an end “as rapidly as possible.”
It added that Israel must pay reparations to Palestinians for the losses they suffered as a result of its actions.
Inhumane conditions
Israel has conducted military raids in the occupied West Bank on a near-daily basis, during which thousands of Palestinians were kidnapped.
Additionally, over 9,520 Palestinians from the West Bank have been detained by Israel since the war on Gaza started, according to the Detainees and Ex-detainees Commission and the Palestine Prisoners Society.
On Wednesday, the commission said the detainees in the Israeli prison of Etzion near Hebron and Bethlehem governorates are facing harsh and inhumane imprisonment conditions.
It added that they were subjected to different types of maltreatment and torture, the latest of which was the case of detainee A.R. who was severely beaten on his feet and hands with sticks and rugs during his detention and interrogation, leaving traces and scratches all over his body.
Targeting human rights activists
The Israeli occupation authorities continue to target human rights defenders in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Mary Lawlor stressed.
She pointed out that Israel targets these individuals through prolonged administrative detention, without charge or trial, where they are subjected to humiliation and mistreatment, calling for an end to these practices.
Lawlor revealed that five human rights defenders, including three women, were detained between October 2023 and March 2024, either from their homes or upon their return from abroad, with the period of administrative detention orders ranging between four to six months.
She said four out of these five detainees were repeatedly slapped, beaten, and humiliated.
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