RAMALLAH, Wednesday, April 24, 2024 (WAFA) – Israeli occupation forces overnight detained at least 15 Palestinians in multiple raids across the West Bank, according to the Prisoners’ Affairs Commission (PAC) and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS).
They said in a press release that the occupation forces conducted multiple raids, mainly in the West Bank districts of Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Hebron and Jerusalem, and rounded up at least 15 Palestinians.
They added that the large-scale raids involved causing extensive destruction of infrastructure and houses and brutal beating of detainees along with their families.
As part of the 15 detainees, the gun-toting soldiers rounded up three Palestinians and ransacked the houses of their families in Ya‘bad town, west of the northern West Bank city of Jenin.
They rounded up another from the village of Kafr Dan, northwest of Jenin, after stopping him at a military checkpoint in Wadi al-Badhan, northeast of Nablus.
Still in the district of Jenin, the soldiers continued to invade Jalboun village for the third consecutive day, where they occupied the rooftops of two houses and used them as firing posts.
They also confiscated a carwash facility and broke into and ransacked two storage rooms in the village.
In the district of Qalqiliya, the sources confirmed a similar raid in Azzun town, east of the city, resulting in the detention of two youths.
In the district of Nablus, a convoy of army vehicles stormed the Askar al-Jadid refugee camp, before the soldiers ransacked dozens of houses, interrogated many Palestinians and eventually detained two.
In the southern West Bank district of Hebron, the occupation forces barged their way into Halhul town and detained two people after storming their houses and conducting thorough searches.
PAC and PPS noted that at least 8,445 Palestinians have been detained from the West Bank, including Jerusalem, since October 7.
The occupation forces frequently raid Palestinian houses almost daily across the West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians, triggering clashes with residents.
These raids 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 9,500 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centres, including 200 child prisoners and 80 female prisoners.
This number includes approximately 3,660 Palestinians placed under “administrative detention”, which 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.
The 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.
