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JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces detained four Palestinians from Silwan in occupied East Jerusalem after raiding and searching their homes early Monday.

Majdi al-Abbasi from the Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan said that Israeli forces detained Bahaa Ahmad al-Abbasi, 19, and his brother Muhammad, after raiding their home in the Ein al-Luza neighborhood.

Israeli forces detained Muhammad Nasser al-Abbasi, 20, at around 2:00 a.m. Monday, after raiding and searching his home, and Muhammad Walid Castero, 19.

The detainees were transferred to the Russian Compound for interrogation.

An Israeli police spokesman said that he was not aware of the arrests.

Israeli forces routinely detain Palestinians in the occupied territories, usually on the pretext of security questioning.

Prisoner rights group Addameer has estimated that around 40 percent of the male Palestinian population has been detained by Israeli forces.

Tension has been growing in the neighborhood of Silwan due to increasing numbers of Jewish settlers, many of whom move to the area with the assistance of organizations that facilitate the purchase and takeover of Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem in an effort to "Judaize Jerusalem."