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BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces detained at least eight Palestinians, including one as young as 14, in predawn raids across the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, Palestinian and Israeli sources said.

Locals in Nablus told Ma'an that Israeli troops stormed the nearby village of Beit Dajan and detained Nasir Radwan Abu Thabit, an engineering student at al-Najah National University.

Another student, 20-year-old Muhammad Abed al-Raouf Jarrar, who studies at Palestine Technical College in Tulkarem, was also detained in the Nablus-district village of Urif.

Further south, Israeli forces detained two Palestinians from Abu Dis east of Jerusalem, identified as Yousif Yousif Dandan and Iyad Shaalan.

Israeli soldiers also stormed the town of Beit Fajjar south of Bethlehem and detained 14-year-old Anas Shahir Deiriyya.

In central Hebron, Israeli forces raided a number of homes in the al-Sheikh neighborhood and detained Hisham Issa al-Qawasmi, 39, claiming they had found a handgun in his home.

Locals said that Palestinians were made to stand outside in the cold while Israeli forces searched their homes. Homes were also reportedly raided and ransacked in Sair northeast of Hebron, although no detentions were reported.

Another Palestinian, 32-year-old Dawoud Mohammad Ahmad Abu Turk, was detained at the the Allenby Bridge border crossing as he was returning to the occupied West Bank from Jordan, Palestinian sources said.

An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed that six Palestinians were detained overnight -- two in Nablus, two in Ramallah, one in Beit Fajjar, and one in Tulkarem. She said they were detained for alleged "illegal activities."

According to prisoners' rights group Addameer, around 7,000 Palestinians are currently being held in Israeli prisons. Nearly 40 percent of the Palestinian male population has been detained at some point in their lives, according to Addameer.
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by IMEMC News

Israeli soldiers kidnapped, on Wednesday at dawn, thirteen Palestinians, including children, in different cities and towns in the occupied West Bank. Among the children are several university students.

The Nablus office of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS), in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, said the soldiers kidnapped a journalism student in the an-Najah National University in Nablus, identified as Naseer Radwan Abu Thabet, 21, from Beit Dajan town.

The soldiers kidnapped another Najah student, identified as Abdul-Hafith Shehada, 21, from Beit ‘Orif village; he is a student of the Engineering Department, and Mustafa Salah Khweira.

The PPS added that the soldiers also invaded and searched many homes in the Old City of Nablus, and withdrew later without conducting any arrests.

In addition, several Israeli military vehicles invaded Abu Dis town, east of occupied Jerusalem, searched a few homes and kidnapped three Palestinians, identified as Yousef Dandan, Eyad Anwar Sha’lan, 16, and Mohammad Anwar Sha’lan, 16.

The soldiers also invaded Beit Fajjar town, south of Bethlehem, and kidnapped two children identified as Anas Shaher Deeriyya, 15, Shaher Fadel Deeriyya, 14, after searching his family’s home.

Also in Bethlehem, the soldiers hurled stones on a number of homes in Khalayel al-Louz area, detonated the door of one of them, and invaded it.

In Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank, the kidnapped Hisham Issa al-Qawasma, from his home in the center of the city, while another Palestinian, identified as Daoud Ahmad Abu Turki, 32, was taken prisoner while trying to cross back into the West Bank, through the al-Karama border terminal with Jordan.

In the northern West Bank district of Jenin, the soldiers searched homes and kidnapped one Palestinian, identified as Mahmoud Kamal ar-Razi, 25, while Mahmoud Abdul-Ra’ouf Jarrar, 20, was kidnapped from his home in the nearby district of Tulkarem.

In Jericho district, the soldiers invaded the town of al-Jiftlik, and kidnapped a Palestinian identified as Zeidan Mohammad ‘Annouz.

On Tuesday evening, the soldiers kidnapped five Palestinians, including two children, in occupied Jerusalem, and in the central West Bank district of Ramallah, including one who was kidnapped while attending his brother’s trial in a military court.

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