BETHLEHEM, Tuesday, March 05, 2019 (WAFA) – Israeli forces rounded up 12 Palestinians in multiple overnight raids across the West Bank, said the Palestine Prisoner’s Society (PPS).
PPS said in a press release that Israeli forces detained four Palestinians from the southern West Bank district of Bethlehem.
Elaborating on the Bethlehem district raids, security sources confirmed that among the four were two Palestinians detained from Duheisha refugee camp, south of Bethlehem, and a minor from the neighboring town of al-Khader.
PPS also confirmed that two others were detained from Hebron district in the southern West Bank.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces detained three others from the central West Bank district of Ramallah and al-Bireh. One of the detainees was identified as Amal Barghout, whose husband, Tarek, was rounded up along with leading Fatah leader Zakaria Zubeidi six days ago.
PPS also reported that two Palestinians were rounded up from the northern West Bank refugee camp of Jenin.
Commenting on the Duheisha raid, locals said that Israeli military vehicles raided the camp, where soldiers detained the two Palestinians and ransacked several houses, including the family house of leading Fatah member Zakaraia Zubeidi.
Zubeidi, a member of Fatah Revolutionary Council, was rounded up along with Tarek Barghout, an attorney representing the Prisoners Affairs Committee, during a raid in Ramallah on February 27.
Zubeidi was a leading member of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Fatah’s armed wing, during the second intifada but was later given amnesty by Israel in a deal reached with the Palestinian Authority.
PPS confirmed that the twelfth Palestinian was detained from Salfit district.
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.
