The Israeli army has confirmed that soldiers marked Palestinian detainees with numbers on their foreheads during a raid on the town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin in the occupied West Bank earlier this week. Palestinian news outlets reported the incident, which took place on Monday. According to the Palestinian Wafa news agency, Israeli forces had deployed in several neighbourhoods of Qabatiya, with local sources telling the news agency that soldiers had searched a number of houses and arrested several young men.
The army also said in a statement that troops had arrested two people during the raid who were suspected of “planning and promoting terrorist plots”. However, footage published on Monday from the raid showed a Palestinian man with the number “44” written on his forehead, sparking outrage. One of the detainees, Ahmad al-Hathnawi, who was marked with the number, told Palestinian media that this was the first time that the army had written numbers on his forehead.
Al-Hathnawi explained that he had been released from Israeli detention 10 days ago for the fourth time, but said that he had never experienced something like this before. Israeli settlers, often tacitly or overtly facilitated by Israeli troops, have in recent weeks significantly ramped up attacks on Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank. Al-Hathnawi explained that there were about “50 detainees, including blindfolded women, in the house” where he was interrogated.
But the practice of marking Palestinian detainees with numbers is not new, and was previously reported in April after soldiers had written numbers on the hands of Palestinian women in Jenin. At the time, the Israeli army acknowledged that it was “poor judgement”. Freed Palestinian detainee Ahmad Hethnawi from Qabatiya recounts dehumanizing treatment by Israeli occupation forces, including being subjected to interrogation and having identification numbers written on his face and body during his fifth detention. pic.twitter.com/Nx8BB3qUcD — Quds News Network (@QudsNen) August 18, 2026 In a statement on Tuesday, the Israeli army told the Times of Israel that soldiers had marked detainees in the occupied West Bank.
Knesset lawmaker Ahmad Tibi condemned the marking and called it “shocking and repulsive” in a post on X. An image that recalls dark periods and should shock every person,” he wrote. Israeli forces have ramped up their campaign of raids and arrests in the occupied West Bank.
On Monday, illegal settlers put up tents on Palestinian land to create a new settlement outpost near Ramallah, while another group of settlers continues to besiege the village of Qusra, now for the 11th day. The mayor of Qusra told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that he fears the siege of families in the town could represent a “new approach” aimed at forcing Palestinians from their homes. He added that the families’ food supplies would run out within two days and that they urgently needed supplies and medicines.
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