RAMALLAH, Israeli forces today detained at least six Palestinians and wounded another, mostly in predawn raids across the occupied West Bank, according to local and security sources.

They said that Israeli forces rounded up a Palestinian and ransacked his family house in al-Am‘ari refugee camp, south of al-Bireh city in the central occupied West Bank, turning it upside down.

In the southern West Bank, a convoy of army vehicles stormed Dheisheh refugee camp, south of Bethlehem city, where the gun-toting soldiers rounded up another.

During ensuing confrontations, the soldiers opened fire towards local young men who attempted to block their entry, wounding one by a rubber-coated steel bullet in the foot.

The sources added that the soldiers also showed up at two houses in the Bethlehem city neighborhoods of Karkafeh and Jabal Nawawra, resulting in the detention of two others.

Still in Bethlehem district, the soldiers detained a 15-year-old minor from the southern part of Tuqu‘ town, southeast of the city.

Meanwhile, soldiers manning a flying checkpoint on al-Muarrajat Road, which links Ramallah to the city of Jericho, stopped and re-arrested a former prisoner. The prisoner was identified as a resident of Tammun town, southeast of Tubas.

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 4,700 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centers, including 150 children and 34 female prisoners.

This number includes approximately 835 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