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Scenes. (Photo: Israeli army spokesperson) Published by Maan News
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BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces detained at least 37 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Sunday for attempting to enter Jerusalem without Israeli work permits, while 57 Palestinians had their work permits revoked for allegedly violating their terms, according to a statement from the Israeli army.

The statement said that the group was detained in an area near an Israeli checkpoint in the village of Husan amid a campaign launched Sunday morning by the Israeli army to find undocumented Palestinian workers.

The statement provided a photo of the area, which is sometimes used as a point of access from the occupied West Bank for Palestinian workers, who walk up a wooded hill to a dirt road that leads to West Jerusalem.

A suspect was also detained for “assisting” the Palestinians in entering Israel, according to the statement, presumably referring to a person who intended to drive the group into Jerusalem.

The statement added that the Israeli army also confiscated valid work permits for 53 Palestinians who were “staying in Israel,” as work permits typically do not allow for Palestinians to sleep inside Jerusalem or Israel overnight.

Under Israel’s permit regime, Palestinian residents of the West Bank are not allowed to access occupied East Jerusalem or Israel without an Israeli-issued permit, and many risk being shot and injured while trying to cross into Israel to work.

A Palestinian construction worker fractured his feet on Saturday after Israeli forces opened fire at him while he was attempting to pass over Israel's separation wall and jumped off it to escape the bullets.

Tens of thousands of Palestinian workers are forced to seek a living by working in Israel due to crippling unemployment in the West Bank, as the growth of an independent Palestinian economy has been stifled under the ongoing Israeli military occupation, according to rights groups.

The crackdown on undocumented workers has typically come in the form of Israeli police raids inside Israel or Jerusalem on work sites or residences where workers or staying, while preventative Israeli army raids in the West Bank are less common.