Abduction of Palestinians by Israeli occupiers on rise in occupied West Bank: Officials

Abductions and arbitrary detention of Palestinians by Israeli occupiers have increased across the occupied West Bank, particularly targeting farmers and rural communities, Palestinian officials and rights groups said Monday.

Salah al-Khawaja, director of the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission's office in the central West Bank, told Anadolu that such incidents were often accompanied by abuse and violence.

"Palestinians were being detained at makeshift checkpoints or seized during attacks on farmers and rural and Bedouin communities," he said.

Amir Daoud, the commission's documentation official, said the repeated attacks make farmers fear for their lives and freedom when accessing their land and could discourage them from reaching their fields.

"The impact of the attacks extends from the victim to the entire village and becomes a means of intimidating residents and weakening their connection to their land," Daoud said.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in May 2025 that it had documented around 36 incidents since October 2023 in which Israeli occupiers, some wearing military uniforms, abducted or detained at least 50 Palestinians, including three children.

Palestinian rights group Al-Haq also said in a Sept. 24 report that documented cases showed an "increasing pattern" of abductions and unlawful arbitrary detentions.

In the latest reported incidents, Israeli occupiers abducted seven Palestinians on Saturday, according to the official Voice of Palestine radio.

The outlet said three abductions were reported in Nahalin west of Bethlehem, three in Qaffin north of Tulkarem and a farmer in Beit Imrin near Nablus, adding that their fate was not immediately known.

Daoud accused the Israeli army of providing protection to occupiers during some incidents, saying the Qaffin attack took place under army protection.