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by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies Report

Israeli soldiers invaded the town of Beit Ummar, near the southern West Bank city of Hebron, on Sunday at dawn and kidnapped one child. Clashes were reported after the army abducted the child during a search of his home.

Local sources reported that soldiers broke into the home of Omar Jobrael As-Sleiby, and kidnapped his son Eyad, 14.

Dozens of residents clashed with the soldiers, and hurled stones at them; the army fired concussion grenades and gas bombs.

Soldiers also assaulted resident Sharif Hasan Abu Hashem, 56, leading to a fracture in his right arm. He was moved to the Hebron Governmental Hospital.

Soldiers invaded the home of Issa Abdul-Hai Wahadeen after using ladders to climb to its rooftop and broke in through a roof door. Issa was not at home; his wife Amna, 54, and his 14-year-old daughter were alone at home and suffered anxiety attacks.

The army went on to invade the home of Ahmad Khalil Abu Hisham and confiscated the ID card of his son Yousef, 20. Yousef is a former political prisoner who was released nearly three months ago.

In related news, soldiers invaded the nearby towns of Ithna and Halhoul, installed roadblocks on their main entrances, and drove around in the towns for several hours.

On Sunday morning, the army installed a roadblock at the entrance of the Al-Fawwar refugee camp and detained or interrogated several residents while inspecting their ID cards.

At noon on Saturday the army attacked a nonviolent protest against the wall and settlements in Beit Ummar town, north of Hebron, and kidnapped three protesters.

One of the kidnapped is the coordinator of the National Committee Against the Wall in Beit Ummar, Younis Arar. The other detained nonviolent protesters are from the United States and Germany.

The protesters denounced the ongoing Israeli escalation against the Gaza Strip, and the destruction of seven homes in Beit Ummar.

The army declared Beit Ummar as a closed military zone and prevented the protesters from entering privately-owned Palestinians lands that Israel wants to illegally grab for the construction and expansion of settlements.