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BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces detained at least 40 Palestinians in overnight and predawn detention raids across the occupied Palestinian territory Wednesday, including two women, a teenage girl, and a number of male minors.

Just a day prior, raids in the occupied West Bank saw 45 Palestinians detained.

Israeli forces carry out detention raids across the occupied Palestinian territory on a near-nightly basis, with the UN recording some 178 raids in the West Bank between Dec. 13 and 26, 2016.

According to prisoners’ rights group Addameer, 7,000 Palestinians were held in Israeli prisons as of October, 64 of them women and some 400 minors.

Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nablus districts

In the northernmost district of Jenin, Israeli forces detained five Palestinians, identified by the Palestinian Prisoner's Society (PPS) as Nael Mansour, Jihad Mansour, Salih Mansour, Husam al-Khatib, and Yousif Amarna from the village of al-Khaljan. An Israeli army spokesperson said three were Hamas operatives.

The PPS statement added that three teenage boys from Jenin refugee camp were injured by the soldiers who detained them. They were identified as Sharif Muhammad Khanfar, 16, Muhammad al-Sabbagh, 17, and Ahmad Muhammad Issa, 16. 

Four Palestinians were detained from the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem, identified in a statement by PPS as former prisoner Musab Quzah, Fahd Yassin, who locals said is an engineering student at the al-Najah University, Hussein Abu Shanab, and Usayd Awad.

An army Israeli spokesperson said the four were detained for allegedly being members of Hamas.

Locals in the village of Burin in the northern occupied West Bank district of Nablus said Israeli forces violently raided the town early Wednesday morning, firing stun grenades. Israeli soldiers “assaulted and interrogated” two youths while briefly detaining them. They were identified as 17-year-old Asid Ahmad Muhammad Imran and 19-year-old Hassan Ali Taher Najjar.

Israeli forces raided and searched several houses in the village belonging to Murad Maaruf Najjar, Colonel Bilal Muhammad al-Sheikh Imran, Imad Abd al-Salam Imran, Zakariya Jamil Najjar Abu Maher, and Ali Taher Najjar, according to locals.

Ramallah district and East Jerusalem

In the central occupied West Bank district of Ramallah, Israeli forces detained Qusay Moussa al-Abed, 18, Ahmad Abd al-Jabir Dhamrah, 25, and Said Yousif, the PPS statement said.

An Israeli army spokesperson meanwhile said a total of six detentions were carried out in Ramallah, including one in the town of Yaabad -- identified by locals as Yousif Mahmoud Amarna -- one in the village of Qibya, one Hamas operative in Birzeit, two Palestinians in Kharbatha al-Misbah, and one Hamas operative elsewhere in the district.

Meanwhile, PPS said that Israeli forces detained Ubeida al-Atrash in occupied East Jerusalem, who it said was the mother of Mutasem al-Atrash, a Palestinian currently serving a 10-month sentence in Israeli custody.

Anas Abbasi, Muhammad Abbasi, Wisam Sidr, and Ahmad Said were also detained in Jerusalem raids.

Reports from Israeli media said Israeli forces detained a Palestinian youth from the city of Jerusalem overnight Tuesday after finding weapons in his private vehicle. Israeli news sites said the Palestinian youth was detained at the entrance of the town of Anata in northeastern Jerusalem after an M-16 gun, grenades, and other weapons were found in his private vehicle.

Bethlehem and Hebron districts

Former prisoner Ahmad al-Sheikh and Haitham Abu Ayyash were detained from the southern district of Bethlehem, PPS reported, as the army confirmed two detentions.

Overnight, Israeli forces also raided several houses and took pictures of the owners in the village of Wadi Rahhal in southern Bethlehem, locals said.

The PPS statement reported that 12 Palestinians were detained in southern occupied West Bank district of Hebron alone, including a 39-year-old woman, Bayan Muhammad Aqil, and her teenage daughter Fatima. 

The others were identified as Anas Khalil Allami, 22, Omar Talahma and his brother Hamza, Yousif Kawazba, Hamza Shahatit, Ahmad Warda, Islam Abu Rayya, Mustafa Jawad Salmi, Muhammad Akram Judah, and his brother Basil. 

An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed ten detentions were made in the Hebron district. She said a "Hamas activist" was detained in the town of Sair, one in al-Arrub refugee camp, one in Beit Ummar, two in Khursa, one "Hamas activist" in al-Tabaqa, while four were detained in al-Fawwar refugee camp, one of which she said was a "Hamas operative."

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