Description

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces detained at least 15 Palestinians, including three minors, in predawn military raids across the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, Palestinians and Israeli sources said.

Israeli military raids in Palestinian towns, villages, and refugee camps are a daily occurrence in the occupied West Bank. The UN recorded an average of 95 weekly raids in the occupied West Bank in 2016, and 78 weekly raids on average thus far in 2017.

Approximately 6,300 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons, including some 300 minors, and 500 Palestinians who have not been charged or tried, according to Palestinian prisoners’ rights group Addameer.

Northern West Bank

In the Nablus district, locals said Israeli forces raided Askar refugee camp and detained five Palestinians, identified as Muhammad al-Jiji, Muhammad al-Asmar, Jamil al-Aqra, Izz al-Din al-Aqra, and Ahmad Abed. All five detentions were confirmed by an Israeli army spokesperson.

South of Nablus city, two Palestinians were detained in the town of Huwarra, according to the Israeli army.

A written statement released by Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said that during the raid in Huwarra, Israeli forces uncovered "historical antiques including hundreds of coins from different historical periods, jewelry, and pottery," that he said was estimated at a value of thousands of dollars. One of the Palestinians, he said, was detained "under the suspicions of antiquities trafficking."

Israeli forces raided the village of Haris north of Salfit and detained a Palestinian man, according to locals and the Israeli army.

Central West Bank

In the central occupied West Bank district of Ramallah, Israeli troops detained Islam Nimr from al-Amari refugee camp, locals said, in addition to one unidentified Palestinian from the Umm al-Sharayit neighborhood south of Ramallah, and one in the village of Ein Arik.

All three detentions were confirmed by an Israeli army spokesperson.

Southern West Bank

In the Bethlehem district, Israeli troops raided the town of Beit Fajjar and detained two teenage boys, identified by locals as 17-year-old Khalid Hussein Derayya and 15-year-old Sanad Amjad Taqatqa.

An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an the two were detained for throwing Molotov cocktails towards the illegal Israeli settlement Migdal Oz, which was established in the 1970s on land confiscated from Palestinian landowners in the villages of Beit Fajjar, Beit Ummar, and al-Khader.

A 13-year-old boy was also detained in al-Duheisha refugee camp in southern Bethlehem, identified by locals as Muhammad Iyad al-Masri. An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed one Palestinian was detained in the camp.

In the southernmost occupied West Bank district of Hebron, Israeli troops raided the village of al-Samu and detained one Palestinian, according to the Israeli army.

Features