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BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Israeli army detained 19 Palestinians across the West Bank overnight Wednesday as clashes broke out in the Beit Ummar village in the southern West Bank district of Hebron following the detentions.

Popular Committee spokesman Mohammad Awad in Beit Ummar said 12 military vehicles entered the village, raiding the al-Tarbeiqa and al-Khlia areas. Three Palestinians were detained, of which two handed themselves over to the army, he said.

Jihad Abu Hashim, 22, was detained following a raid on the family home, as well as Muhammad Awad, 20, and Bassam Ikhlayel, 48. All three were previously detained and were held in Israeli jails, he added. Abu Hashim was released only a few months ago.

Brothers Ali and Ramzi Ikhlayel, 18 and 19 respectively, handed themselves over to the army, Awwad said.

The detentions sparked clashes with Israeli forces, who fired rubber bullets and tear gas, injuring three teenagers. Awwad said they were treated on site. Several suffered from tear-gas inhalation, he added.

Stones, rocks and Molotov cocktails were thrown at the Israeli army jeep, he added, saying one vehicle was damaged.

Clashes also broke out in Jenin after Israeli forces raided a number of homes and detained recently-released prisoner Wasfi Qabha.

Meanwhile, eight Palestinians were detained the Ramallah-area village of al-Mazraa al-Qabaliya, the Palestinian Authority Prisoners' Ministry said, denouncing the arrests.

The ministry said 100 military vehicles raided the village, with some forces descending from a helicopter. Sounds bombs and tear gas were used in the operation, the ministry added.

Three Al-Aqsa Brigades members, who were exempt from arrest, were also detained in Nablus.

The Israeli army further said it made arrests in Qalandiya, Tubas and Jarushiya, a village in the northern West Bank district of Tulkarem.

The Israeli army did not elaborate further on the reason for the higher than average number of detentions.

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21 Palestinians Kidnapped In West Bank

by IMEMC & Agencies

Israeli soldiers invaded on Thursday [June 27 2013] various districts in the occupied West Bank, and kidnapped 21 Palestinians.


Local sources in Al-Mazra’a Al-Qibliyya village, north of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, reported that dozens of soldiers invaded the village, violently broke into several homes, and searched them, before kidnapping eight Palestinians, including children.

The army also fired several gas bombs and concussion grandees during clashes that took place with local youths during the invasion.

Two of the kidnapped have been identified as Shadi As-Sakhl, Hassan Abdul-Haq, and Nasser Al-Kharraz.

Furthermore, soldiers invaded the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and attacked several residents before kidnapping four identified as Samer Eiraan, 33, Hassan Abdul-Haq, 20, Maher Qareeb and Nassr Al-Kharraz.

Eyewitnesses have reported that clashes took place in different neighborhoods in the city, and that the army violently searched several homes and fired rounds of live ammunition in the center of the city.

Army also invaded Beit Ummar town, north of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, shot and injured three children, and kidnapped at least five Palestinians.

Mohammad Awad, spokesperson of the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, stated that three children (16-17 years old) have been injured by rubber-coated metal bullets.

Awad added that the soldiers kidnapped three residents identified as Jihad Abu Hashem, 22, Mohammad Ali Awad, 20, and Bassam Ikhlayyil, 48. All are former political prisoners.

He further stated that two brothers identified as Ali Ikhlayyil, 19, and Bassam, 18, were ordered to head to the Etzion military base for interrogation, and were kidnapped after heading there.

The latest arrests bring the number of Palestinians kidnapped in Beit Ummar since the beginning of the year to 66; more than half of them are children.

Several Israeli military jeeps also invaded Ath-Thaheriyya town, south of Hebron, searched several vehicles, and illegally took possession of a car that belongs to resident Raed Al-Jabareen.

In Tubas, in the central part of the West Bank, soldiers kidnapped three Palestinians identified as Adham Daraghma, 21, Ammar Ghaleb Aref Daraghma, 21, and Ammar Sawafta.

On Wednesday afternoon, the army kidnapped for brothers in Jenin, in the northern part of the West Bank, the four have been identified as Moayyad Abu Obeid, 26, Eyad, 27, Jihad, 35, and Mohammad, 40.

The latest arrests are part of daily Israeli military violations against the Palestinians in different parts of the occupied West Bank.

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