RAMALLAH, Israeli forces predawn Thursday detained 24 Palestinians from various parts of the occupied West Bank, according to local and security sources.
They said that Israeli forces rounded up 16 Palestinians and ransacked the houses of their families in Beit Ummar town, north of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, blowing up the doors of some houses, tampering with their contents and causing destruction.
Among the detainees were three teens, aged 15, 16, and 17.
While inside the family house to detain a teen, the gun-toting soldiers assaulted the father, a former prisoner, fracturing his leg. He was rushed to a hospital for treatment.
The soldiers detained another Palestinian and searched his house in Hebron city.
In Ramallah district, the sources confirmed a raid in Beitunia city, west of the city, resulting in the detention of another.
Meanwhile, a convoy of army vehicles stormed Askar refugee camp, east of Nablus, where the soldiers surrounded two houses, broke inside, conducted thorough searches, and eventually rounded up two others.
While inside the camp, the soldiers brutally assaulted two residents, inflicting wounds and bruises across their bodies.
The casualties, Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS) paramedics confirmed, were rushed to a hospital for treatment.
In the northern West Bank, the soldiers showed up at a house in al-Mudawwar village, south of Qalqiliya city, ransacked it and detained another.
They also barged their way into Ya‘bad town, south of Jenin, and rounded up another.
The soldiers manning the permanently-staffed Huwwara checkpoint, south of Nablus, stopped and detained two others from Qabatiya town, south of Jenin.
Israeli forces frequently raid Palestinian houses almost on a daily basis across the West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians, triggering clashes with residents.
These raids, which take place also in areas under the full control of the Palestinian Authority, are conducted with no need for a search warrant, whenever and wherever the military chooses in keeping with its sweeping arbitrary powers.
Under Israeli military law army commanders have full executive, legislative and judicial authority over 3 million Palestinians living in the West Bank. Palestinians have no say in how this authority is exercised.
According to the latest figures from Addameer, the Palestinian Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, there are currently 4,760 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centers, including 160 children and 33 female prisoners.
This number includes approximately 820 Palestinians placed under “administrative detention”, that allows the detention of Palestinians without charge or trial for renewable intervals ranging between three and six months based on undisclosed evidence that even a detainee’s lawyer is barred from viewing.
Mass arrest of Palestinians is nothing new. According to a 2017 report by Addameer, over the past 50 years, more than 800,000 Palestinians have been imprisoned or detained by Israel, this figure is now believed to be closer to 1 million. This means that about 40% of Palestinian men and boys living under military occupation have been deprived of their freedom. Almost every Palestinian family has suffered the imprisonment of a loved one.
Israeli forces frequently raid Palestinian houses almost on a daily basis across the West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians, triggering clashes with residents.
These raids, which take place also in areas under the full control of the Palestinian Authority, are conducted with no need for a search warrant, whenever and wherever the military chooses in keeping with its sweeping arbitrary powers.
Under Israeli military law army commanders have full executive, legislative and judicial authority over 3 million Palestinians living in the West Bank. Palestinians have no say in how this authority is exercised.
According to the latest figures from Addameer, the Palestinian Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, there are currently 4,760 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centers, including 160 children and 33 female prisoners.
This number includes approximately 820 Palestinians placed under “administrative detention”, that allows the detention of Palestinians without charge or trial for renewable intervals ranging between three and six months based on undisclosed evidence that even a detainee’s lawyer is barred from viewing.
Mass arrest of Palestinians is nothing new. According to a 2017 report by Addameer, over the past 50 years, more than 800,000 Palestinians have been imprisoned or detained by Israel, this figure is now believed to be closer to 1 million. This means that about 40% of Palestinian men and boys living under military occupation have been deprived of their freedom. Almost every Palestinian family has suffered the imprisonment of a loved one.
Source: Palestine News & Info Agency