Israeli forces predawn Thursday detained 17 Palestinians from various parts of the occupied West Bank, according to local and security sources.
They said that Israeli forces rounded up two Palestinians after breaking into and ransacking their family house in Silwad town, north of Ramallah.
The detainees were identified as 60-year-old Mahmoud Hamed and his son, Khaled. Mahmoud’s other son, Mujahed, was gunned down by Israeli forces near the town on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the gun-toting soldiers detained two others from the Nablus city neighborhoods of Rafidiya and al-Ma‘ajin.
Still in Nablus district, the soldiers barged their way into Beita town, south of the city, detained two others and ransacked the houses of their families, turning them upside down.
The sources confirmed a similar raid in Beit Furik town, east of the city, resulting in the detention of another.
In the northern West Bank, a sizable army force detained another from Jenin city and three others the neighboring refugee camp.
The same predawn raid resulted in the killing three men and injuring 10 others.
In the southern West Bank, the heavily-armed soldiers forcibly entered two houses in Bethlehem city, conducted thorough searches and eventually rounded up two others, including a journalist.
They also stormed a house in Aida refugee camp, north of the city, tempered with its contents and detained another.
Meanwhile, the sources said that three others were detained from Hebron city.
On Wednesday evening, police detained two others after storming the houses of their families in the Jerusalem city neighborhood of al-Tur.
Soldiers manning al-Hamra checkpoint in the Jordan Valley stopped and detained a resident of Tubas city.
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.
According to the latest figures from Addameer, the Palestinian Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, there are currently 4,760 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centers, including 160 children and 33 female prisoners.
This number includes approximately 820 Palestinians placed under “administrative detention”, that allows the detention of Palestinians without charge or trial for renewable intervals ranging between three and six months based on undisclosed evidence that even a detainee’s lawyer is barred from viewing.
Mass arrest of Palestinians is nothing new. According to a 2017 report by Addameer, over the past 50 years, more than 800,000 Palestinians have been imprisoned or detained by Israel, this figure is now believed to be closer to 1 million. This means that about 40% of Palestinian men and boys living under military occupation have been deprived of their freedom. Almost every Palestinian family has suffered the imprisonment of a loved one.
Source: Palestine News and Information Agency