650 PALESTINIANS DETAINED BY ISRAELI FORCES IN OCTOBER

Al Quds, 27 Dzulhijjah 1436/11 October 2015 (MINA) –  Israeli forces have detained up to 650 Palestinians since the beginning of October, most of them younger than 20 years old, the Palestinian Authority Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs said Saturday.

The committee said in a statement that most of the Palestinians were detained during clashes with Israeli soldiers, or subsequently in overnight raids on the pretext of resisting Israeli soldiers,  Maan News Agency quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

According to the statement, many Palestinians had reported being held for hours at interrogation centers, undergoing humiliation and maltreatment. Some prisoners said that they were violently beaten during their detention.

Abdullah Masalma, a 22-year-old from Dura in southern Hebron told the committee that he was detained and beaten by Israeli forces along with his 16-year-old brother, Udai.

Abdulllah said that when he was detained he sustained a serious head injury and was left bleeding for a long time before he and his brother were transferred to an Israeli military base in the occupied West Bank, where they were beaten again and then left blindfolded and handcuffed.

Abdullah added that his brother Udai’s hand severely injured during the beating.

The two were then transferred to Kiryat Arba military base, where they stayed 16 hours handcuffed without any water or food, before finally being moved to Ashkelon in southern Israel.

The committee said that three Palestinian prisoners who were shot and injured by undercover Israeli forces during recent clashes had initially been transferred to interrogation centers despite their state of health, before they were later moved to Israeli hospitals.

A Palestinian woman, who was reportedly shot by an Israeli settler in Jerusalem’s Old City after stabbing him, remained in hospital, the committee said.

It said that Israeli authorities had prevented its lawyers from meeting many of the prisoners, including those who were injured.

The detentions come amid fierce clashes that have swept the occupied Palestinian territories, leaving hundred of Palestinians injured, and 21 dead. (T/P010/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)