Israeli forces detain 16 Palestinians, injure another in West Bank raids
Several Palestinians were also injured
Jerusalem24 – Israeli forces, at dawn on Wednesday, detained at least 16 Palestinians, mostly from the West Bank district of Nablus, and injured another.
Deputy mayor of Beita, Mousa Hamayel, confirmed that Israeli forces rounded up 11 Palestinians, including two injured, after breaking into and ransacking their houses in the town, South of Nablus city.
One of the detainees was identified as 17-year-old Ramez Qawariq, who sustained injuries from Israeli military gunfire as he participated in rallies defending Jabal Sabih against settlement construction during the first week of July.
Elsewhere in the northern West Bank, Israeli forces detained two brothers after storming their homes in the southern neighborhood of Tulkarm city, as reported by the Palestine Prisoner’s Society (PPS).
They re-arrested a former detainee after breaking into and searching his house in the Shweika neighborhood, North of the city. In the Tubas district, Israeli troops made their way into the al-Far‘a refugee camp, South of the city, and detained another.
During the ensuing confrontations, soldiers opened fire towards local youths who attempted to block their passage, injuring one with a live round in the left foot. The casualty was rushed to a hospital for treatment, as confirmed by the Director of the PPS Office, Kamal Bani-Odeh.
In the southern West Bank, the sources confirmed a similar military raid in the town of Tuqu‘, East of Bethlehem, resulting in the detention of another.
Israeli forces frequently raid Palestinian houses on an 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.
