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by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC

Israeli soldiers invaded, on Tuesday [March 4, 2014], Silwan town in occupied East Jerusalem, broke into a number of homes, and kidnapped three Palestinian children.

The Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan has reported that the soldiers kidnapped Morad Tarhouny, Mohammad Abu Sneina, and Ahmad Abu Gharbiyya, all 13-14 years of age, and took them to an unknown destination.

The Center said that three children were first kidnapped a month ago, and were released after a military court ordered them under house arrest for a week.

In related news, undercover soldiers of the Israeli military kidnapped a Palestinian man from the southern West Bank city of Hebron.

Eyewitnesses said that the soldiers kidnapped Ayyoub al-Qawasmy, 40, after violently breaking into his home on University Street, in the city.

Regular units arrived at the scene and surrounded the property.

Earlier on Tuesday, soldiers invaded several Palestinian communities in the West Bank, kidnapping 22 Palestinians.

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JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli police on Tuesday arrested three Palestinian boys in the Old City of Jerusalem, a Ma'an reporter said.

The three were identified as Murad al-Tarhouni, Muhammad Abu Sneineh, and Ahmad Abu Gharbieh, all between the ages of 13 and 14.

Police took the boys to al-Wad police station, then transferred them to al-Qashla station.

An Israeli police spokesman said he was not familiar with the arrests.

Israeli forces detained 31 children in the Palestinian territories throughout the second half of February, according to a report by the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Information.

Figures from the PA Ministry of Prisoners' affairs show that there are 187 Palestinians under the age of 18 currently held in Israeli jails.

Some 5,200 Palestinians were being held in Israeli jails as of October 2013, according to the Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs. Another 1,280 are in Israeli prisons for being inside Israel without permits.

Since 1967, more than 650,000 Palestinians have been detained by Israel, representing 20 percent of the total population and 40 percent of all males in the occupied territories.

The internationally recognized Palestinian territories of which the West Bank and East Jerusalem form a part have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.