Israeli forces detain 15 Palestinians in West Bank raids
shahennews
Israeli forces Thursday overnight and Wednesday evening detained 15 Palestinians from various parts of the West Bank, according to local and security sources.
They said that Israeli forces rounded up a Palestinian after breaking into and searching his family house in A‘rura village, north of Ramallah city.
The soldiers also showed up at a house in Beit Rima village, northwest of the city, went inside and re-arrested a former prisoner.
In Jerusalem, a sizable police force barged its way into Shufat refugee camp and detained four residents.
They also rounded up a resident of the Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan from the vicinity of Bab al-Amoud.
In the southern West Bank, the sources confirmed a raid in Beit Ula town, northwest of Hebron, resulting in the detention of another.
The gun-toting soldiers conducted a similar raid in al-Fawwar refugee camp, south of the city, forcibly entered a house, conducted a thorough search and eventually detained another.
They also re-arrested a former prisoner from Idhna town, west of the city, and ransacked his family house as well as his brothers’ houses, wreaking havoc inside.
In the northern West Bank, the military vehicles stormed Jenin city, where the soldiers re-arrested a former prisoner.
They also forcibly entered another house in the city, woke up all residents, turned the house topsy-turvy and re-arrested another former prisoner.
The sources added that three others were detained; two from al-Fari’ah refugee camp in Tubas district and the other from Jericho 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.
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 4,450 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centers.
This number includes approximately 530 Palestinians placed under “administrative detention”, that 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.
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.
