RAMALLAH, Saturday, August 3, 2024 (WAFA) – Israeli occupation forces Saturday detained at least 30 Palestinians in multiple -mostly predawn- raids across the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestine Prisoner’s Society (PPS) and the Commission for the Detainees and Ex-detainees’ Affairs.
They said in a joint statement that the occupation forces rounded up at least 30 Palestinians, including two journalists, children and former prisoners, from the West Bank governorates of Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Tulkarm, Hebron, Tubas and Jerusalem.
They added that in the course of the raids, the soldiers threatened, Physically assaulted detainees along with their families, and sabotaged their property.
As part of the raids, the occupation forces rounded up a Palestinian and ransacked his family house in the al-Jalazone refugee camp, north of Ramallah.
In Jerusalem, the occupation forces rounded up another from at-Tur neighbourhood and ransacked his family house, turning it topsy-turvy.
They also detained another from his family house in the Silwan neighbourhood, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
In the Nablus governorate, the sources confirmed a raid in Nablus’ eastern and Tal‘at at-Tur neighbourhoods, resulting in the detention of three Palestinians, including a father together with his son.
The occupation soldiers showed up at a house in the Asira ash-Shamaliya town, north of Nablus, muscled inside, conducted a thorough search, and eventually detained another.
In the Jenin governorate, the sources confirmed a raid in the Jalqamus village, resulting in the detention of two people.
The soldiers rounded up four people, including a minor, from the Raba village, and ransacked the houses of their families, turning them upside down.
In the southern West Bank, the sources confirmed a raid into the Husan village, west of Bethlehem, resulting in the detention of a 16-year-old teenage.
A sizable army force conducted two separate raids in the Bethlehem city and the ad-Doha town, west of the city, leading to the detention of two others.
The occupation 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 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 9,700 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centres, including 250 child prisoners and 79 female prisoners.
This number includes approximately 3,380 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.
