BETHLEHEM, Monday, January 16, 2023 (WAFA) – Israeli forces Monday evening detained eight Palestinians, mostly minors, from the occupied West Bank districts of Bethlehem and Jerusalem, according to security sources.
They said that Israeli forces rounded up four Palestinians, including three minors, aged 15 and 16, from Khirbet al-Deir area of Tuqu‘ town, southeast of Bethlehem city.
During the ensuing confrontations, the gun-toting soldiers showered local youths with tear gas canisters, causing a number to suffocate.
Meanwhile, Israeli police re-arrested a former prisoner from the Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina shortly after releasing him from 28-month-long imprisonment.
They also detained three other minors; two from the Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan and another from the Old City of Jerusalem.
This came as undercover Israeli forces, known as Musta'ribeen, sneaked their way into Ras al-Amud neighborhood and abducted another minor.
Earlier today, Israeli forces detained at least 15 others in multiple raids across the occupied West Bank.
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.
