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An Israeli soldier in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron. (MaanImages/Charlie Hoyle, File)
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HEBRON (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces assaulted a Palestinian man in his fifties after detaining his son in the Old City of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank, locals said.

Locals told Ma’an that 20-year-old Izzat Ishaq Jabir was walking through the Jabir area of the Old City before Israeli soldiers stopped him and took him into custody.

Jabir’s father, Ishaq, was notified of the detention and assaulted by soldiers who forced him to leave the area when he approached them to inquire about his son, locals said.

An Israeli army spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

The flash point site of Hebron’s Old City has been designated a closed military zone by Israeli officials since November.

Palestinian residents of the area -- already under severe restrictions by the Israeli military -- were forced at the time to register under a number system that would allow them to pass through the Old City’s many checkpoints.

Only Palestinian residents and Israeli settlers are allowed to enter the area, and locals face frequent harassment by both Israeli settlers and military forces.