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Scene. File. Published by Maan News
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BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces carried out predawn military raids across the southern occupied West Bank on Sunday, detaining at least 10 Palestinians, according to local sources and the Israeli army.

In the Hebron district in the southern occupied West Bank, Israeli forces stormed the town of Beit Kahil and detained 20-year-old Muhammad Mahmoud Asafira, according to locals. An Israeli army spokesperson claimed he was a Hamas operative.

In the town of Beit Ummar north of Hebron, Israeli forces detained 22-year-old Sabri Ibrahim Awwad after ransacking several homes in the area, according to local activist Muhammad Ayyad Awwad. An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed the detention.

Also in the south, Israeli forces detained five Palestinians from the villages of Marah Rabah and Husan in the Bethlehem district, which were all confirmed by the Israeli army.

Locals in Marah Rabah identified the detainees as Hussam Muhammad al-Sheikh, Murad Mahmoud al-Sheikh, Hamza Abdullah al-Sheikh, and Hussein Amr al-Sheikh. In Husan, locals said Israeli forces detained a young Palestinian man, whose identity was not revealed.

In al-Duheisha refugee camp in southern Bethlehem, Mahmoud Karim Ayyad was detained, according to locals and the Israeli army.

The raid sparked clashes in the camp as well as in the nearby town of Doha, according to locals sources who said two young men were shot in the foot during the clashes, which an Israeli army spokesperson could not immediately confirm.

According to the spokesperson, two Palestinians were also detained in overnight raids in the central occupied West Bank, one in the town of al-Sawahira and one in al-Zawiya.

Israeli forces carry out detention raids across the occupied Palestinian territory on a near-nightly basis, with the UN recording an average of 95 weekly raids in the West Bank in 2016, and 73 weekly raids on average thus far in 2017.

Due to the typically aggressive nature of the raids, clashes often erupt between local Palestinian youth who throw stones and are met in response with live fire, rubber-coated steel bullets, and tear gas, often resulting in serious, sometimes fatal, injuries.

According to prisoners’ rights group Addameer, 6,500 Palestinians were held in Israeli prisons as of January.

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