7 students arrested by Israeli forces hours before their final exams
Israeli forces rounded up 30 Palestinians in military raids in the occupied West Bank, a prisoners' affairs group said on Thursday.
The detainees included seven high school students, who were taken into Israeli custody just hours before their final exams, the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a statement.
The group said the pre-dawn raids targeted students registered for the secondary school exams, particularly in the town of Deir Istiya in the northern Salfit province, where six students and some of their fathers were detained.
A seventh student was arrested in Tulkarem, also in the northern West Bank.
While the detained fathers were later released, the students remain in Israeli custody, the group said.
The arrests came as Israeli ministers and politicians intensified calls for the annexation of the West Bank, further escalating tensions in the occupied territory.
According to the Palestinian Education Ministry, 67 high school students have been prevented from taking their exams this year due to Israeli detentions.
Israel has arrested thousands of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since the start of its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023.
According to Palestinian figures, at least 988 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the West Bank by Israeli forces and illegal settlers since October 2023.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) last July declared Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
