Israeli forces detained five Palestinian women in predawn raids across the West Bank on Wednesday. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
Abdelrahman Badr, a resident of Hebron, said he heard footsteps outside his home shortly after 1 a.m. and soon Israeli forces were at his door. They were looking for his wife. The forces took Itaf Badr, a board member of a prominent health charity, for questioning.
The raids targeted multiple cities including Hebron, Ramallah, Nablus and Bethlehem, according to the women's families and Palestinian rights groups. Abdullah Al-Zaghari, head of the Palestinian Prisoners' Club, said security forces are detaining more women and girls, from political activists to student leaders.
According to Israeli rights group Hamoked, which cites data from the Israel Prison Service, women now make up a small but growing share of the roughly 9,300 Palestinians currently in detention. The number of Palestinian women and girls in Israeli detention has more than doubled since the start of the Israel-Hamas war and increased 80% since the start of 2026. Fifteen have been arrested since the beginning of June, bringing the total to 99, according to Prisoners' Club data.
Some were arrested after posting messages on social media, including ones critical of Israel's occupation of the West Bank or the war in Gaza. Others were members of Palestinian political parties' student branches. Many have been imprisoned without formal charges under Israel's administrative detention policy, which allows authorities to hold Palestinians for renewable periods of up to six months.
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 said those women were suspected of "promoting terrorist activities." At least one has since been released; the others have not yet been charged. Saif's arrest has drawn criticism from several U.S. senators who have demanded her immediate release.
Relatives of the women detained Wednesday said they were unsure why they were taken. In Nablus, Wael al-Faqih said his wife, Maiser al-Faqih, was arrested at home. She is a former detainee and, like Itaf, was previously involved with the Union of Health Work Committees, a charity that provides medical care in low-income communities. Israel has accused the group of ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which it has designated a terrorist organization. The charity denies the allegations.