In the early hours of 7 March, hundreds of Israeli occupation forces stormed different homes across the occupied West Bank, assaulting and arresting at least 25 Palestinians, including six children.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS), those arrested include politicians, former prisoners, lawyers and ordinary Palestinians.

The reasons for their arrest have not yet been established. Israeli authorities have so far not issued any statement regarding the overnight raids.

The Israeli military regularly carries out mass arrests in the occupied territories under the guise of targeting “wanted” Palestinians. These raids often trigger clashes with residents.

The latest raid came just a few hours after a 16 year old was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers in the town of Abu Dis, on the outskirts of the occupied Jerusalem.

A statement by the Israeli military alleged that Yamen Nafiz Jaffal was shot after he threw a Molotov cocktail at a military post.

“The soldiers fired at one of the suspects and hit him. Later, he died of his wounds. The second suspect fled,” read part of the statement. The claim has not been independently verified.

Local media reports said Israeli soldiers prevented paramedics from attending to Jaffal immediately after he was shot.

The killing brought the number of Palestinians who have been killed by Israeli soldiers during the last two weeks to six.

On 4 March, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet expressed concern at the steep increase in the number of Palestinians who have been killed by Israeli forces in the occupied territories.

In a report she presented to the UN Human Rights Council, Bachelet said between November 2020 and October 2021, 315 Palestinians were killed by Israeli soldiers.

She said this represents an increase of more than 400 percent compared to the previous reporting period. 

Bachelet accused Israeli authorities of giving their forces leeway to use excessive force and violence against Palestinians.