Key facts
- Israeli forces arrested at least 20 Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
- Five women and a journalist were among those detained in early morning raids.
- The number of Palestinian women in Israeli detention has more than doubled since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
- Some women were arrested for social media posts or affiliations with Palestinian political parties.
- Many women are held under administrative detention without formal charges.
Israeli forces conducted raids across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, arresting at least 20 Palestinians, including five women and a journalist, since Tuesday evening. The early morning raids on Wednesday targeted multiple cities, including Hebron, Ramallah, Nablus, and Bethlehem.
Among those detained was Itaf Badr, a board member of a prominent health charity, who was taken for questioning in Hebron. Her husband, Abdelrahman Badr, stated that Israeli forces searched him and his son before arresting his wife.
According to Abdullah Al-Zaghari, head of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, the number of Palestinian women and girls in Israeli detention has more than doubled since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, increasing by 80% since the start of 2026. Fifteen women have been arrested since the beginning of June, bringing the total to 99. Some women were arrested for social media posts critical of Israel or the war in Gaza, while others were members of student branches of Palestinian political parties. Many have been imprisoned under Israel’s administrative detention policy, which allows for renewable detention periods of up to six months without formal charges.
Last month, Israeli soldiers arrested at least five other young women, including four members of the Palestinian national soccer team and a 20-year-old Palestinian-American, Sama Saif. The military stated these women were suspected of “promoting terrorist activities,” though at least one has since been released and others have not yet been charged.
The Israeli military referred questions about arrests in Ramallah and Nablus to Israel’s Border Police and stated it was checking for information on Itaf Badr’s detention in Hebron. Relatives of the detained women expressed uncertainty about the reasons for their arrests. Wael al-Faqih, whose wife Maiser al-Faqih was arrested in Nablus, noted her previous involvement with the Union of Health Work Committees, a charity that Israel has accused of ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a designation the charity denies.