RAMALLAH, Thursday, December 29, 2022 (WAFA) – Israeli forces predawn Thursday detained eight Palestinians from various parts of the occupied West Bank, according to local and security sources.
They said that Israeli forces re-arrested a former prisoner after ransacking his family house in Umm Safa village, northwest of the central West Bank city of Ramallah.
The gun-toting soldiers showed up at a house in al-Mughayyir village, northeast of the city, muscled inside, conducted a thorough search and eventually detained another.
In Jerusalem district, the sources confirmed a raid in Beit Duqqu town, northwest of the city, resulting in the detention of two others.
In the southern West Bank, the soldiers forcibly entered a house in Hebron city and ransacked it, turning it upside down, before rounding up another.
They also barged their way into Dura city, south of Hebron, as well as to El-Kaum village, south of Dura, and detained two others, including a former prisoner.
The soldiers detained another from Beit Ummar town, north of Hebron, and searched his family house, tampering with and wrecking havoc to the contents.
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.
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.
K.F.
