Palestinian detainees attempt to commit suicide at Israeli prison

Seven Palestinian detainees have attempted to commit suicide at Israel's Ofer military prison in the occupied West Bank due to the "brutality of jailers," Palestinian authorities said on Sunday.

"Prisoners are subjected to beatings during arrest and in detention," the Commission of Detainees' Affairs said in a statement.

"If a prisoner is late for the count or late waking up at 4 a.m., he is beaten and abused," it added.

The commission said the seven detainees had attempted to commit suicide due to the poor detention conditions and the brutality of the jailers.

"As they are subjected to starvation and medical neglect, prisoners have come to prefer death and martyrdom to this miserable life," it added.

There was no immediate Israeli comment on the report.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces rounded up six more Palestinians, including two children, in military raids in the West Bank on Sunday, the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a statement.

The new arrests brought to 9,845 the number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank since Oct. 7, 2023.

Tensions have been high across the occupied West Bank since Israel launched a deadly military offensive against the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 39,300 victims since Oct. 7.

At least 592 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 5,400 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land "illegal" and called for the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.