Key facts
- Israeli soldiers marked Palestinian detainees with numbers on their foreheads and arms during a raid in Qabatiya, West Bank.
- At least 50 people, including women, were detained and marked.
- Detainees reported interrogations aimed at deterring resistance to settlement expansion.
- The Israeli army confirmed the practice, stating "lessons have been learned."
- Similar incidents involving numbered detainees have occurred previously.
- Israeli forces fired live ammunition at two children during a raid on the Am’ari refugee camp.
Israeli soldiers marked Palestinian detainees with numbers on their foreheads and arms during a military raid in Qabatiya, near Jenin, in the occupied West Bank. During the operation, dozens of residents were rounded up, with several individuals bearing numbers marked on their skin. Ahmad al-Hathnawi, who was marked with the number 44 on his forehead, told local media that approximately 50 people were detained, including women. Hathnawi, who has been arrested four times previously, stated this was the first time he had been marked. He described the interrogations as focusing on general questions and attempting to convey a message that settlers would face no opposition if they entered the area. Hathnawi suggested the interrogations were intended to intimidate families and discourage resistance to the expansion of settlements around Jenin. The Israeli army confirmed that soldiers had marked the detainees with numbers, issuing a statement that "lessons have been learned," according to Israeli media. This practice follows similar incidents reported in April, where Palestinian women from Jenin were marked, and in 2024, when a group of detainees from Hebron were similarly marked on their foreheads. Separately, Israeli forces fired live ammunition at two children during a raid on the Am’ari refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, seriously wounding one.