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BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces detained at least nine Palestinians, including at least two minors, between Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, Palestinian and Israeli sources said.
In the Hebron district in the southern occupied West Bank, five Palestinians were detained.

According to an Israeli army spokesperson, three Palestinians were detained in the village of Beit Ummar north of Hebron City, identified in a statement from the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) as Ahmad Samir Abu Ayyash, 16, Wasim Taha Abu Mariya, 16, and Jumaa Zaki al-Itil.
Israeli media reported that the three were detained for throwing stones at the Israeli army and settler vehicles.

In the town Surif in the northwestern outskirts of the Hebron district, Israeli forces detained Fadi Ibrahim Ghneimat, 36, and his 30-year-old brother Shadi. The Israeli army spokesperson claimed they were Hamas operatives.

In southern city of Bethlehem, Israeli forces stormed the Ayda refugee camp and detained Dawood Jamal Radi. An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed the detention, claiming that he was a Hamas operative.

Alaa Tirawi was also detained from Nablus district in the northern occupied West Bank, according to PPS. An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed a detention was made in Nablus, saying it was conducted in the village of Jammain, and claiming that the detainee was a Hamas operative.

In the occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli police detained Muhammad Moussa Abbasi and Ubadah Najib, according to the PPS statement. An Israeli police spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment.

According to prisoners rights group Addameer, some 7,000 Palestinians were imprisoned by Israel as of August, many of whom face torture, denial of family visitation, and medical negligence.

The Palestinian Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs said on Tuesday that recent large-scale detention campaigns carried out across the occupied Palestinian territory by Israeli forces has contributed to massive overcrowding at Israeli Ofer prison, where prisoners have reported being verbally and physically assaulted during their detention, interrogation, and transfer to the prison.

Palestinian prisoners held at Ofer told the Committee that Israeli Prison Service (IPS) officers have continuously harassed and assaulted them, imposed thousands of dollars in monthly fines, and subjected sick prisoners to a deliberate policy of medical neglect.

Rights groups have long criticized Israel for the mistreatment of Palestinians in Israeli prisons, as well as the illegality of their imprisonment.

Meanwhile, Israeli doctors working in Israeli prisons have been widely condemned for their complicity in the torture of Palestinian prisoners during interrogations, in violation of medical ethics and international law.

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