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Illustrative: Israeli forces detain a Palestinian youth in Jerusalem (AFP/Ahmad Gharabli, File)
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RAMALLAH (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces detained at least 15 Palestinians in predawn military raids across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, Israeli and Palestinian sources said.

The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) said in a statement that six Palestinians were detained in East Jerusalem, identifying them as Anas Abu Asab, 17, Daoud Yousif Atiyeh, 17, Muhammad Nimr Atiyeh, Nitham Abu Rumouz, Muhammad Abu Sbeitan, and Basim Matooq.

In the northern West Bank, PPS said Alaa Abtali, his brother Anas, and Salim Juedi were detained in the Qalqiliya district, while Majdi Nizar Atatra was detained in the village of Yaabad in the Jenin district.

PPS added that four Palestinians were detained in the southern West Bank district of Hebron. The four were identified as Muhammd Arif Hujouj, 20, Nabil Kamil al-Jaabari, 38, Ali Mahmoud Abu Hasan, 21, and Shaddad Hamouda al-Sharha.

An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed three detentions to Ma’an for suspected “illegal activities,” citing one Palestinian detained in Hebron, one in the Hebron-area village of Dura, and a third in the Bethlehem area.
Prisoners’ rights organization Addameer estimates that some 7,000 Palestinians were held in Israeli prisons as of May.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Israeli forces have carried out a weekly average of 86 detention raids in 2016. However, the UN noted a significant uptick earlier this month, with 98 detention raids made across the West Bank between July 5 and 11.

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