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BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces detained at least 16 Palestinians in raids between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, Israeli and Palestinian sources said.

In East Jerusalem, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) reported that Israeli forces detained Malik Froukh, 18, Ihab Zghir, Ghazi Abu Mayala, and Rushdi Halawani.

Locals told Ma’an that three unidentified shop owners were detained in the Old City of East Jerusalem on Wednesday evening. It remained unclear whether the merchants were part of the detainees mentioned by PPS

In the northern occupied West Bank, PPS reported that Baraa Tawfiq was detained in the village of Meithalun in the Jenin district, while Basel Souqi was detained in the Tulkarem-area village of Irtah.

An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed to Ma’an one detention in Meithalun.

In the Nablus district, Atallah Hussein Hashash, 24, was detained in the Balata refugee camp, while Murad Abu Hdib was detained in the Askar refugee camp, according to PPS.

The army confirmed both detentions.

In the Qalqiliya district, PPS said that Israeli forces detained Mehdi Sweidan, 24, Laith Rabiaa, 19, and Qais Shbita, 21.

The Israeli army mentioned three detentions in the village of Azzun.

Meanwhile, in the Jerusalem district of the West Bank, PPS said that Taher Mahmoud Mansour was detained in the village of Biddu.

In the southern West Bank district of Bethlehem, Ali Ismail Hamamra, 21, was reported detained from the village of Husan, a detention confirmed by the army.

In the Hebron district, PPS reported the detention of Musab Salama Ghneimat, 19, in the city of Hebron, Muhammad Ahmad Hmeidat, 33, in Surif, and Samih Alaa Shahin in al-Dhahiriya.

The army only confirmed on detention in the city of Hebron.

PPS, which documents overnight raids by Israeli forces, said in a statement earlier this month that it had recorded the detention of 100 Palestinians, including 18 minors, in the first five days of 2017.

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 2016.

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