RAMALLAH, Thursday, May 19, 2022 (WAFA) – Israeli forces Thursday overnight detained 15 Palestinians from various parts of the West Bank, according to local and security sources.
They said that Israeli forces rounded up four Palestinians from Beit Rima town, northwest of Ramallah.
During the confrontations that unfolded, the soldiers opened live ammunition, stun grenades and tear gas canisters towards local teens who attempted to block their passage. No injuries were reported though.
In Jerusalem, the sources confirmed a raid in Qalandiya refugee camp, north of Jerusalem, resulting in the detention of another.
Gun-toting soldiers barged their way into Biddu town, northwest of the city, and rounded up two others after ransacking the houses of their families.
In the southern West Bank, several military vehicles stormed al-Ubeidiya town, east of the city, where the soldiers detained two others, including a 16-year-old teen.
They also forcibly entered and searched a house in al-Khader town, south of the city, and eventually rounded up another.
Elsewhere in the southern West Bank, the sources confirmed that four others, including a twin, from Hebron city.
In the northern West Bank, the heavily-armed soldiers forcibly entered several neighborhoods of Nablus city, including Ein Beit al-Ma' and Rafidiya, and re-arrested a former prisoner.
In Jenin district, a sizable force raided at-Tayba and Zububa village, northwest of the city, forcibly entered several houses, woke up and interrogated the residents, and searched the houses, turning them topsy-turvy.
On Wednesday evening, the soldiers detained a 15-year-old minor from Yatta town, south of Hebron, purportedly for infiltrating Havat Maon colonial settlement.
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.
