Israeli soldiers number Palestinian detainees on their foreheads

Israeli soldiers marked Palestinian detainees with numbers on their foreheads and arms while interrogating them in the occupied West Bank on Monday.

During a military 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.

Mahmoud Nazzal said that Israeli soldiers stormed his family’s home after dawn prayers, breaking down the doors of the three-storey building before gathering his parents and his brother’s family inside.

The soldiers handcuffed his father and took him outside, while Nazzal was forced to sit on the floor of the stairwell with his hands bound.

The family initially thought the soldiers would conduct a brief interrogation and leave. Instead, dozens of men were brought into the house and questioned. Nazzal said the number of detainees exceeded 70.

“I was sitting in the corner and couldn’t see everything that happened, but I witnessed pushing and hitting as the detainees were taken away and interrogated. They were also numbered on their hands, foreheads and stomachs,” he told Middle East Eye.

The detention lasted from about 5 am until 2 pm. Nazzal said soldiers initially refused to give the women and children water or milk. His diabetic mother suffered a drop in blood sugar and needed insulin before soldiers allowed assistance to reach her.

“I was left lying on the ground, unable to move, for 10 hours while handcuffed. I was also prevented from using the bathroom. I saw someone being beaten as he left the house after his interrogation,” he said.

One elderly detainee with a heart condition also became seriously unwell and needed an ambulance to take him to hospital after his release, Nazzal said.

'Horror movie'

Nazzal described their experience as “a horror movie” and said they needed specialised help to overcome the psychological trauma.

His father, Mufid Nazzal, 67, said he was the first person arrested during the raid. He said soldiers marked his hand and forehead with a number, as they did with other detainees, and kept him handcuffed throughout his detention.

“The soldiers would gather the detainees in the rooms, with about 10 people held in each room, before taking some back for interrogation or releasing others. Three floors of the house were used to detain the prisoners, while the second and third floors were designated for interrogations,” he said.

Mufid said detainees were pushed and subjected to violence as they were moved between floors. He could not always see what was happening but said he heard and witnessed some of the pushing on the stairs.

“They released me after 10 hours, and I was in a bad state because I was handcuffed the whole time. I felt severe pain after my release,” Mufid said.

One of those brought in to the house was Ahmad al-Hathnawi, who was marked with the number 44 on his forehead.

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

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

He said soldiers ask him general questions during the interrogation and said they didn't want people causing problems when settlers came to the city. 

“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.

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.