RAMALLAH, Tuesday, May 17, 2022 (WAFA) – Israeli forces Tuesday overnight detained at least 16 Palestinians from various parts of the West Bank, according to local and security sources.
They said that Israeli forces rounded up a Palestinian after breaking into his parents’ house in Misilyah village, south of the northern West Bank city of Jenin.
They also rounded up three other and ransacked the houses of their families in Barta'a town, west of Jenin.
Another from Silat al-Harithiya village, northwest of the city, was detained while crossing al-Karameh border crossing, also known as Allenby, between Jordan and the West Bank on Monday evening.
Still in the northern West Bank, several military vehicles stormed al-Far‘a refugee camp, south of Tubas, where the soldiers rounded up two others.
The raid triggered violent confrontations, which saw the soldiers firing stun grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets towards local young men. No injuries were reported though.
The sources confirmed a similar raid in Qalqiliya city, resulting in the detention of four others, all in their 40s.
In Salfit district, the heavily-armed soldiers barged their way into Qarawat Bani Hassan town, northwest of the city, and rounded up another.
In the southern West Bank, the soldiers showed up at a house in Dheisha refugee camp, south of Bethlehem, muscled inside and detained another.
They also detained two others, including one in his 50s, after storming and thoroughly searching their houses.
The soldiers conducted a raid in Husan village, west of Bethlehem, ransacked a house and confiscated the recordings of surveillance cameras.
In Hebron district, gun-toting soldiers detained another from Halhul town, north of the city.
They also arrived at Beit Ummar town, north of Hebron, surrounded a number of houses, muscled inside, and assaulted the residents with dogs, as reported by local activist Mohammad Awad.
During ensuing confrontations, the soldiers opened fire towards the residents’ houses and local young men attempting to block their passage, causing dozens to suffer from tear gas inhalation.
All the suffocation cases were treated at the scene.
On Monday afternoon, soldiers manning the permanently staffed al-Container Checkpoint, north of Bethlehem, stopped and detained a 17-year-old teen high school student from Beit Ummar.
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 4,450 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centers.
This number includes approximately 530 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.
K.F.
