Israeli forces Tuesday evening detained five Palestinians from the occupied West Bank districts of Jerusalem and Qalqiliya, according to local and security sources.
They said that heavily-armed Israeli police rounded up a Palestinian and assaulted others as dozens of Israeli far-right settlers marched the narrow alleys of Jerusalem’s Old City and made their way to Bab al-Majlis, one of the gates leading to Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Police rounded up two others from the Jerusalem neighborhood of al-Thuri.
Still in Jerusalem district, the sources confirmed a raid in al-Ram town, north of Jerusalem, resulting in the detention of another.
Meanwhile, the gun-toting soldiers showed up at a house in the northern West Bank city of Qalqiliya, went inside, conducted a thorough search and eventually detained another.
Earlier today, Israeli forces rounded up at least seven others from various parts of the West Bank.
In the northern West Bank, the soldiers detained a Palestinian and ransacked his family house in Kafr Qallil town, south of Nablus city.
They also conducted a similar raid in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, resulting in re-arresting a father along with his son.
In the southern West Bank, a convoy of army vehicles stormed Al-Asakra village, southeast of Bethlehem city, where the soldiers rounded up another.
In Hebron, the soldiers brutally assaulted and detained a girl in the vicinity of the Ibrahimi Mosque, as confirmed by Director of the Mosque Ghassan al-Rajabi.
They also detained two women, one in her 70s, after stopping them at a electronic turnstile leading to the mosque.
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 4,700 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centers, including 150 children and 34 female prisoners.
This number includes approximately 835 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.
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 4,700 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centers, including 150 children and 34 female prisoners.
This number includes approximately 835 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: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)