JERUSALEM, Monday, May 29, 2023 (WAFA) – Israeli occupation forces Monday evening detained four Fatah activists from the occupied city of East Jerusalem, according to local sources.
They said that the heavily-armed occupation soldiers rounded up four Fatah activists, including Ahed Risheq and photojournalist Ahmad Jalajel, from inside Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to prevent from carrying out the random draw (lottery) of the Hajj.
In the predawn hours of today, the occupation forces rounded up at least 13 Palestinians 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 4,900 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centers, including 155 children and 32 female prisoners.
This number includes 1,014 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.
