Description

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces Wednesday detained at least 18 Palestinians during predawn raids across the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian and Israeli sources.

In the northern West Bank district of Nablus, three Palestinians were detained, identified by the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) as Yaqoub Youssef Ghazi, 37, Abd al-Karim Ribhi Daoud, 30, and Abdullah Muhammad Hajj Muhammad, 31.

An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed that three detentions were carried out in Nablus, while Israeli media reported that the detainees were taken from the village of Talfit during overnight raids on the community.

Israeli media also reported that Israeli forces raided the village of Aqraba in Nablus and found gun parts, ammunition, and fight tools.

Further north, in the district of Jenin, an Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an that two Palestinians were detained. PPS identified one of the detainees as Ahmad Hasan Abu al-Rub, 27, from the town of Qabatiya.

Israeli media reported that al-Rub was detained for being an alleged Islamic Jihad operative and for his alleged involvement with a shooting on an Israeli military site.

Israeli forces also detained three Palestinians during raids in the Tulkarem district. The detainees were identified as Abd al-Aziz Qassem Zreiqi, 30, Uday Azmi Abu Ghalia, 26, and Anas Hikman Masarweh. Israeli media reported that two Palestinian youths were detained from the village of Bala.

In the West Bank’s Jerusalem district Israeli forces detained at least four Palestinians. According to PPS, Iyad Zaatreh was detained from the town of Abu Dis, in addition to Ahmad Sweilem who had already spent time in Israeli prison. PPS also reported that Ibrahim al-Ghoul and Yassib Abu Lab were also detained from Jerusalem, but did not provide the exact location they were detained from.

An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an that another Palestinian was detained from the village of al-Eizariya in Jerusalem for being an alleged Hamas operative.

Meanwhile, in the Ramallah district, PPS reported that Israeli forces detained Khalid Youssef Matar from the Qalandiya refugee camp, while Israeli media reported a detention in the city of Ramallah.

In the southern district of Hebron, an Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an three Palestinians were detained from the city of Hebron, while another was detained from the village of Dura. However, Palestinian sources did not provide additional information on the detentions.

Israeli raids in Palestinian towns, villages, and refugee camps are a daily occurrence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, with a weekly average of 78 search and detention raids carried out since the start of 2016, and with 108 carried out just in the previous week, according to UN documentation.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces commonly detain Palestinians during raids without evidence of any wrongdoing, subsequently sentencing the detainees for up to six-month renewable intervals without charge or trial and based on undisclosed evidence.
____

by IMEMC News

The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) has reported that Israeli soldiers kidnapped, Wednesday, at least ten Palestinians in the West Bank districts of Nablus, Tulkarem, Jerusalem, Ramallah and Jenin. The army also occupied a Palestinian home, south of Nablus.

The Nablus office of the PPS, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, said the soldiers stormed and searched dozens of homes and kidnapped three Palestinians.

The kidnapped have been identified as Yacoub Yousef Ghazi, 37, Abdul-Karim Rebhi Daoud, 30, and Abdullah Mohammad Hajj Mohammad, 31.

Also in Nablus, the soldiers invaded ‘Aseera al-Qibleyya town, south of the city, before breaking into a Palestinian home and turning it into a military post.

The owner, Abdul-Basset Ahmad, said the soldiers occupied the second floor of his home, and kicked his son’s family out before turning the property into a military post, and used its rooftop as a military tower.

The invaded property is close to the Yitzhar illegal colony, built on Palestinian lands, south of Nablus.

In Tulkarem, in the northern part of the West Bank, the soldiers kidnapped three Palestinians, identified as Abdul-Aziz Qassem Zreiqi, 30, Odai Azmi Abu Ghalia, 26, and Anas Hikmat Masarwa.

Another Palestinian, identified as Ahmad Hussein Abu ar-Rob, was kidnapped from his home in Jenin, in the northern part of the West Bank.

In addition, the Ramallah office of the PPS, in central West Bank, said the soldiers kidnapped one Palestinian, identified as Yacoub Abdul-Jawad Romman, 32.

In occupied Jerusalem, the soldiers kidnapped Yassin Abu Laab, and a child, identified as Ahmad Sweilem, after he spent a few months under house arrest, before an Israeli court ordered him imprisoned.

In Abu Dis town, near Jerusalem, the soldiers kidnapped Eyad Za’atra, after invading and searching his home.

On Tuesday evening, the army invaded the Qalandia refugee camp, north of Jerusalem, and kidnapped Khaled Yousef Matar.

Features