Israeli forces Friday overnight detained eight Palestinians, including close relatives of the six prisoners who recently managed to escape from a highly-fortified Israeli prison, according to local sources and Palestine Prisoner’s Society.
Director of PPS Office in Jenin Muntaser Samour said that a sizable Israeli military force raided Arraba town, south of the northern West Bank city of Jenin.
While in the town, the soldiers ransacked many houses belonging to the close relatives of Mahmoud Ardah, one of the six escapees, turning them topsy-turvy, and detained Ardah’s sister, Bassema, and brothers, Raed and Muhammad.
The soldiers also barged their way into Bir al-Basha village, where they re-arrested two cousins of Yaqoub Mahmoud Qadri, 49, one of the six escapees. One of the detainees already served 12 years in Israeli imprisonment.
In the southern West Bank, Israeli soldiers detained a 17-year-old teen after brutally assaulting him in confrontations at Bab Az-Zawiya in Hebron city.
The confrontations erupted after the soldiers attempted to violently disperse a rally in solidarity with prisoners facing brutal Israeli mistreatment in Israeli prisons on Wednesday evening.
Still in Hebron district, sources confirmed a military raid in al-Arroub refugee camp, north of the city, resulting in the detention of an 11-year-old minor.
In Nablus district, Israeli military vehicles stormed Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya village, south of the city, where soldiers rounded up a Palestinian after breaking into his family house.
Six Palestinian prisoners, managed to escape from Gilboa Prison on Monday overnight through a tunnel in what was described as the most dramatic and unprecedented prison break, particularly that Gilboa, which was built in 2004 during the Second Intifada, is considered one of Israel’s most impenetrable prisons. Israelis have nicknamed it “the safe”.
Five of the escapees are members of the Islamic Jihad and the other is a member of Fatah.
Israeli forces frequently raid Palestinian houses almost on a daily basis across the West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians, triggering clashes with residents.
These raids, which take place also in areas under the full control of the Palestinian Authority, are conducted with no need for a search warrant, whenever and wherever the military chooses in keeping with its sweeping arbitrary powers.
Under Israeli military law army commanders have full executive, legislative and judicial authority over 3 million Palestinians living in the West Bank. Palestinians have no say in how this authority is exercised.
Source: Palestinian News & info Agency