RAMALLAH, Israeli forces Thursday overnight detained 24 Palestinians in large-scale raids across the West Bank, according to local and security sources.
They said that Israeli forces rounded up eight Palestinians from the central West Bank district of Ramallah.
As part of the raids across Ramallah district, heavily-armed Israeli soldiers rounded up four Palestinians after breaking into their houses in Silwad town, northeast of the city.
They also detained head of the village council of Beitin, northeast of the city, in addition to another from the nearby town of Ein Yabrud.
The remaining two of the eight detainees were identified as residents of Beit Rima village, northwest of the city. One of them is a former prisoner.
In the northern West Bank, the military vehicles stormed Qalqiliya city, where soldiers rounded up seven others, all in their 20s, and ransacked the houses of their families, turning them upside down.
Undercover Israeli forces, known as known as Mista’arvim, sneaked their way into Jaba‘ town, southwest of the Jenin, and abducted five others, including four brothers. The four were identified as the brothers of a local Fatah activist, Amin Ghannam.
Sources pointed that the undercover forces appeared at Ghannam’s family house, went inside, interrogated the family members and ultimately detained the brothers as a means to force Amin to turn himself to the military.
Soldiers rounded up another from Deir Abu Da’if village, east of the city
In the southern West Bank, the sources confirmed a raid in Dheisha refugee camp, south of Bethlehem, resulting in the detention of two others.
Several military vehicles invaded the refugee camp, leading to protests before the soldiers opened fire towards local young men, hitting one with a bullet in the leg. The casualty was rushed to a hospital for treatment.
In Hebron district, Israeli forces barged their way into As Samu’ town, south of the city, where they rounded up another and ransacked his house, turning it topsy-turvy.
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.
Source: Palestine News & Info Agency