JENIN, Tuesday, February 19, 2019 (WAFA) – Israeli forces Tuesday overnight conducted multiple raids across the West Bank and detained 16 Palestinians, said Palestine Prisoner’s Society (PPS) in a statement.

Israeli military vehicles raided Jenin refugee camp, where soldiers detained four Palestinians after ransacking their families’ houses.

Soldiers also raided al-Hashimiya village, west of Jenin, and detained a Palestinian.

Another military raid was carried out in Barta village, south of Jenin, where soldiers detained a Palestinian after breaking into a store. The detainee was identified as a resident of al-Hashimiya.

Elsewhere in the northern West Bank, PPS confirmed that Israeli soldiers detained a Palestinian from Qalqiliya district.

In the central West Bank, Israeli forces detained two Palestinians from Ramallah and al-Bireh districts.

In Bethlehem district, a predawn military raid was conducted in Tuqu‘ town, east of Bethlehem, resulting in the detention of four Palestinians, including at least a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old teenagers.

In Hebron district, PPS confirmed that three Palestinians, including a father and his son, were rounded up from the southern West Bank district.

Security sources identified one of the detainees as a resident of Sair town, east of Hebron. He was rounded up when he attempted to cross the Container checkpoint, northeast of Bethlehem city.

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.

K.F.