BETHLEHEM, April 17, 2019 (WAFA) – Israeli forces Wednesday overnight detained 21 Palestinians, including two minors, and ransacked homes in various parts of the West Bank, said the Palestine Prisoner’s Society (PPS).
PPS confirmed that eight Palestinians were detained during multiple raids across the southern West Bank district of Bethlehem.
Security sources elaborated that Israeli forces detained four Palestinians, including a former prisoner and two brothers, in an overnight raid in al-Khader town, south of Bethlehem.
Another Palestinian from al-Khader was detained after being summoned to the Israeli intelligence in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, south of Bethlehem.
Two others were rounded up from al-Rashayda village, east of Bethlehem, and another from the Bethlehem-city neighborhood of al-Karkafeh.
In Jerusalem, PPS confirmed that Israeli police rounded up a Palestinian minor after ransacking his family’s house in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Batn al-Hawa.
In Hebron district, Israeli military vehicles raided Sair town, east of Hebron city, where soldiers detained two Palestinian brothers.
Similar raids were carried out in al-Fawwar refugee camp and Idhna town, south and west of Hebron, where soldiers ransacked the houses of a university lecturer and a former prisoner.
In Ramallah district, Israeli forces rounded up six Palestinians, including two brothers, and ransacked their families’ houses in a raid that triggered confrontations in al-Jalazoun refugee camp, north of Ramallah city.
In the northern West Bank, PPS said that Israeli forces rounded up five Palestinians, including a 15-year-old minor, from Qalqiliya district.
Soldiers detained at least four of the five detainees in a raid in Azzun town, east of Qalqiliya city.
The raid triggered clashes during which soldiers opened fire towards local youngsters who attempted to block their passage, causing several to an unidentified number to suffer from tear gas suffocation.
All suffocation cases received medical treatment at the scene.
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.
