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Israeli military detained approximately 1,300 Palestinians over a 48-hour period in the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem last week, implementing what Palestinian officials described as collective punishment following an explosive attack that wounded two Israeli soldiers.
The mass arrests began after an improvised explosive device detonated beneath an Israeli armored vehicle on September 11, injuring two soldiers as they patrolled the occupied territory. Israeli military subsequently launched sweeping detention operations across all neighborhoods of the city.
Videos shared from the scene showed hundreds of detained Palestinians surrounded by Israeli soldiers and military vehicles in a public square, where they were held for extended periods.
Deputy Governor of Tulkarem Faysal Selame told reporters that Israel implemented "a collective punishment policy aimed at humiliating and degrading Palestinians by forcing them into long queues, placing them in public spaces, and interrogating some before release."
"This was an extensive detention campaign. Pharmacists were taken from pharmacies, drivers from their vehicles, and passersby from the streets," Selame said. He characterized the operation as "a situation aimed at making the people pay a price."
The detentions occurred alongside searches and what Palestinian officials described as mistreatment of detainees. Selame noted that conflict and instability have dominated Tulkarem since Israel's military campaign in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, with Israeli military targeting the city and its refugee camps through raids lasting hours or days each week.
"Since last Jan. 27, for 8 months now, the Israeli army has been conducting a large-scale military operation. During this process, it forced all residents of the Nur Shams and Tulkarem refugee camps to leave their homes, leaving behind destruction and devastation," Selame said.
Suleiman Bisharat, director of the Yabous Center for Strategic Studies, said the security operations and mass detentions carried significant meaning, comparing them to tactics used during the 1987 Intifada.
"This recalls the logic of the method followed by the army during the 1987 Intifada and comes within the framework of collective punishment policy. The occupier wants the price paid by Palestinians to be heavy in the face of any resistance or rejection of their policies," Bisharat said.
Pharmacist and doctor Yazid al-Sargali, who spoke to reporters, said he was randomly detained from his workplace along with his pharmacy staff and customers.
"After we were detained, they made us walk in a line. They also detained everyone they encountered on the road; men from every house we passed were also taken. We were all walked to a square and held there collectively," al-Sargali said.
Al-Sargali emphasized that Israeli military bound the hands and covered the eyes of many detainees for hours, adding that he provided medical treatment to some patients with diabetes and heart conditions who fainted during detention.
"There were hundreds, even over a thousand detained people in a large square. Most of the detainees were not asked any questions; then they released us in groups," he said.
The Israeli military has been conducting extensive operations in Tulkarem and the Nur Shams refugee camp since January 27, 2023. According to data from the Tulkarem Press Committee, Israeli military completely destroyed more than 600 homes in the city's two camps during their latest offensive and caused partial damage to approximately 2,573 additional homes.
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