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5,677 Palestinians arrested by Israel since last October: Committee

Saturday, 07 May 2016 10:00 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 07 May 2016 10:25 AM ]

Israeli forces arrest a Palestinian man during clashes in the West bank city of Qabatiyah, February 4, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Israeli forces have arrested up to 5,677 Palestinians since last October, which marks the beginning of what is regarded as the third Palestinian Intifada (uprising), a Palestinian committee says.

The Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs said on Friday that the detentions were made across the Palestinian territories.

Abdul-Nasser Ferwana, the head of the commission, also accused Israeli authorities of spreading terror and panic among Palestinians while employing force on a daily basis to take individuals into custody.

Ferwana further expressed concern about the physical and mental torture exercised by Israeli forces against all prisoners.

The international community should assume its responsibility and force Tel Aviv to stop violating Palestinian human rights, he said.

More than 7,000 Palestinians are currently held in some 17 Israeli jails, with many of them being held under the so-called administrative detention, which is a sort of imprisonment without trial or charge that allows Israel to incarcerate Palestinians for up to six months, extendable indefinitely.

Palestinians run from tear gas fired by Israeli troops during a protest marking the 40th Land Day anniversary, outside the Ofer military prison near the West Bank city of Ramallah, March 30, 2016. (Photo by AP)

The occupied territories have been the scene of heightened tensions since August 2015, when Israel imposed restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East al-Quds (Jerusalem).

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam after Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina, Saudi Arabia.

More than 210 Palestinians, including children and women, have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces since October 2015.

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