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TULKAREM (Ma'an) -- Israeli authorities Tuesday detained the mother and brother of Malek Obeid, a wanted Palestinian from the village of Farun in the northern occupied West Bank district of Tulkarem, in an attempt to pressure Malek into turning himself in to Israeli authorities in exchange for their release.

According to Amer Awad, a member of the Farun village council, Israeli authorities summoned Wafiqa Daoud Nasser Obeid and her son Suleiman Ahmad Abed al-Qader Obeid to the Israeli liaison offices before detaining them.

Awad told Ma’an that Israeli authorities reportedly telephoned Malek’s brother-in-law who lives in the Tulkarem refugee camp and threatened to detain Malek’s sisters if he didn’t turn himself in.

Security sources told Ma’an that Israeli forces had attempted to detain Malek in the early morning hours on Tuesday during a military raid in the Farun village, but failed, and instead detained four Palestinian youths.

According to locals, Israeli forces have attempted to detain Malek several times by raiding his house.

An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma'an she could not provide a comment on the detentions, but would look into reports.
It remained unclear what Malek has been suspected of by Israeli authorities.

Israeli authorities have often come under criticism for policies aimed at punishing the families of Palestinians suspected of wrongdoing, including routinely detaining family members of wanted Palestinians, with rights groups calling the policies a form of "collective punishment" which target those who have not committed any crime.