Israeli soldiers number Palestinian detainees on their foreheads

Israeli soldiers marked Palestinian detainees with numbers on their foreheads and arms during a raid in the occupied West Bank on Monday.

During the raid on Qabatiya, near Jenin, Israeli forces rounded up dozens of Palestinian residents, several of whom were marked with numbers on their foreheads and arms.

Ahmad al-Hathnawi, who was marked with the number 44 on his forehead, said at least 50 people were detained, including women.

“This is the first time they’ve put these numbers on me,” Hathnawi, who has been arrested four times previously, told local media.

He said soldiers took him and others away for interrogation during the raid. 

“He was asking general questions and saying we don’t want problems if settlers come here and so on,” Hathnawi said.

“They are basically trying to send a message that if settlers come into the area, there will be no problems, and that the settlers are going to remain here for a long time.”

Hathnawi said the interrogations were intended to terrorise families and deter them from resisting the expansion of settlements around Jenin.

بينهم نساء وأسرى محررين.. جيش الاحتلال ينكل بالمحتجزين خلال حملة اعتقالات واسعة في بلدة قباطية جنوب جنين. pic.twitter.com/AbL0iSxxuw

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) August 17, 2026

The Israeli army confirmed that soldiers had marked the detainees with numbers, saying that “lessons have been learned”, according to Israeli media.

The army made similar comments in April after Palestinian women from Jenin were marked with numbers on their arms.

In 2024, Israeli soldiers also marked a group of Palestinian detainees from Hebron with numbers on their foreheads.