RAMALLAH, Thursday, October 27, 2022 (WAFA) – Israeli forces Thursday overnight detained 35 Palestinians in large-scale raids across the occupied West Bank, according to local and security sources.
They said that Israeli forces rounded up four Palestinians and ransacked the houses of their families in Aboud village, northwest of Ramallah.
While in the village, the gun-toting soldiers broke into and ransacked a detainee’s barbershop, turning it topsy-turvy.
The soldiers also detained three others; two from Jalazone refugee camp, north of the city, and the other from Beitunia, west of the city.
In Jerusalem district, police barged their way into Jabal al-Mukabbir neighborhood and rounded up another.
A convoy of army vehicles stormed Anata town, east of Jerusalem, where the soldiers rounded up another.
The sources confirmed that a resident of Biddu town, northwest of Jerusalem, was detained while making his way back from Jordan to his hometown.
In Bethlehem district, the sources confirmed a raid that triggered confrontations in Dheisha refugee camp, south of the city, resulting in the detention of two others.
Elsewhere in the southern West Bank, a sizable army force stormed Beit Ummar town, north of the city and conducted house-to-house raid and search campaign, muscling inside, interrogating occupants for several hours, and tampering with the contents.
The soldiers ultimately detained 17 Palestinians, including at least five teens and former prisoners.
During the ensuing confrontations, they opened fire towards local youths attempting to block their entry, causing dozens to suffocate from tear gas.
The soldiers conducted a raid in Surif town, northwest of the city, leading to re-arresting a former prisoner.
In the northern West Bank, the soldiers showed up at a house in Iraq al-Tayeh village, northeast of Nablus, and detained another.
They also arrested another after storming his house in the Nablus city neighborhood of al-
Makhfiyya.
Still in the northern West Bank, the sources said that two others were detained in separate two raids in al-Yamoun town and Ajjah village, west and southwest of Jenin.
In Jericho district, the heavily-armed soldiers detained a teen from al-Jiftlik village, north of the city.
On Wednesday evening, the soldiers detained two others after storming a barbershop in the Hebron city neighborhood of Abu Sneineh.
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 190 children and 30 female prisoners.
This number includes 800 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.
