Under the cover of darkness, Israeli forces swept through multiple Palestinian cities across the occupied West Bank, arresting dozens of people, among them former prisoners, a journalist, and even a groom-to-be. Homes were ransacked, streets were sealed, and checkpoints sprang up overnight, turning entire neighbourhoods into zones of fear and confusion. For families who have endured years of such raids, last night felt like yet another chapter in a relentless cycle of repression.

In Ramallah, troops stormed villages and re-arrested Ahmad Al-Sayfi, freed only months ago after sixteen years in prison, and set to be married within days. Others were seized from their homes, some in front of their children, as soldiers confiscated vehicles and personal belongings. In Hebron, journalist Musab Qafisheh, who had already spent years behind bars under administrative detention, was taken again. Further north, in Nablus and Qalqilya, gunfire echoed through crowded streets as soldiers fired live rounds and tear gas, leaving one man wounded and several others detained.

These coordinated raids have become part of a broader pattern. Former prisoners, activists, and journalists are routinely targeted, their re-arrests serving as warnings to others who dare to speak out or organise. Each night of detentions deepens the sense that no Palestinian in the West Bank is truly safe, not students, not mothers, not those who have already served years in Israeli prisons. The message is clear: silence and submission are demanded, while any hint of defiance is met with force.

As the genocidal war in Gaza rages on, Israel’s reach extends across the West Bank, tightening control and crushing dissent. What unfolds there mirrors the same logic of domination, a system built not on security but on subjugation. In the homes left empty after these raids, mothers clutch photographs, and wedding dresses hang untouched, symbols of a life constantly interrupted by occupation and loss.