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BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces detained at least eight Palestinians during raids between Thursday evening and dawn on Friday, according to Palestinian security, Israeli army, and hebrew-language media sources.

In the central occupied West Bank district of Jerusalem, Israeli forces raided a mosque in the town of Hizma following evening prayers and arrested five Palestinians.

According to Palestinian security sources, Israeli forces surrounded and raided the mosque, detaining Amjad and Ghassan Omar Kanaan, Ghazi Badr al-Khatib, Ishaq Muhammad and Mustafa Jaber.

Clashes erupted in the town following the raid, with Israeli forces firing live ammunition and tear gas at locals, causing many to suffer from severe tear gas inhalation.

An Israeli army spokesperson said they were looking into reports of the raid and clashes.

In the village of Silwad, located in the central West Bank Ramallah district, Israeli forces detained the father of a slain Palestinian and two Palestinian prisoners during a predawn raid in the village.

Locals told Ma'an that Israeli forces detained Sheikh Bassam Hammad, father of Anas Hammad who was killed by Israeli forces last December after injuring two Israeli soldiers in an vehicle attack near the illegal Ofra settlement, and Palestinian prisoners Abd al-Rahim and Taqwa Hammad.

An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma'an that one Palestinian, who she identified as a Hamas operative, was detained in Silwad.

In the southern West Bank district of Bethlehem, Israeli forces raided and shut down the Jumbo supermarket in the town of Beit Jala, adjacent to Bethlehem city, claiming that the store was selling fireworks to local youth that were being used in clashes against Israeli soldiers.

Palestinian security sources said the store was closed until further notice.

Additionally, the Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an that one Palestinian was detained from the Jenin-area village of Yaabad.

Hebrew-language media reported that one Palestinian was detained from the village of Yassuf in the central west Bank district of Salfit.

Israeli raids in Palestinian towns, villages, and refugee camps are a daily occurrence in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

The United Nations recorded an average of 95 weekly raids in the occupied West Bank in 2016, and an average of 70 raids a week so far 2017.

According to prisoners’ rights group Addameer, 6,300 Palestinians were held in Israeli prisons as of April, including 300 minors, 61 women, and 500 under administrative detention -- Israel's contested policy of imprisonment without charge or trial.
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Soldiers Abduct Two Palestinians In Ramallah And Jenin

by IMEMC News

Israeli soldiers invaded, on Friday at dawn, Silwad town, northeast of Ramallah in central West Bank, and Ya’bad town, southwest of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, and abducted a man and a teenage boy.

The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) in Ramallah said the soldiers searched homes in Silwad, and abducted Bassam Hammad, the father of Anas Hammad, who was killed by Israeli army fire on Friday, December 4, 2015.

In addition, the soldiers invaded Ya’bad town, southwest of Jenin, also searched homes, and abducted a teenage boy, identified as Mojahed Majd Amarna, 16.

In related news, the soldiers invaded Beit Jala city, in the West Bank governorate of Bethlehem, and weld shut a Supermarket for selling fireworks.

The soldiers also posted a note on the shop threatening to close stores that sell fireworks, reportedly because some protesters use them against the invading Israeli forces during clashes.

Also at dawn, the soldiers invaded Qalqilia city, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, shot one Palestinian with a rubber-coated steel bullet, and fired gas bombs at an Emergency Response Center, causing three medics to suffer the severe effects of teargas inhalation.

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