ISRAELI FORCES DETAIN 35 IN MULTIPLE RAIDS ACROSS WEST BANK

Hebron, 7 Muharram 1437/20 October 2015 – Israeli forces detained at least 35 Palestinians in multiple predawn raids across the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, Palestinian sources and the Israeli army said.

In Hebron in the southern West Bank, Israeli forces detained former prisoner Mahmoud Arif Sharabati after ransacking his home in the Jabal al-Sharif neighborhood, Maan News Agency quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

Israeli forces also detained 17-year-old Ahmad Mazin al-Karaki from his home in southern Hebron, while Sadiq Mahmoud Siyaj was detained from his home in the al-Bassa neighborhood, security sources said.

Israeli troops also raided the Khallat Hasour neighborhood of Hebron and detained Muhammad Majid Natsha and his brother Mahmoud.

Musab Shahir al-Bakri was also detained from his home in Hebron.

In the town of Idhna, west of Hebron, Israeli troops detained 27-year-old Ali Jamal Tmeizi, Palestinian security sources told Ma’an.

Local sources said that Israeli forces also stormed the home of Fadil Qawasmi, a teenager who was shot dead by an Israeli settler in Shuhada Street in Hebron’s Old City on Saturday.

The settler alleged that Qawasmi was attempting to stab him, although the settler was uninjured and witnesses disputed the Israeli army’s version of events.

Locals said that the raid on Tuesday morning was probably in preparation for a home demolition, as Israeli soldiers took photos inside the building.

Meanwhile, in Nablus in the northern West Bank, locals told Ma’an that Israeli forces detained at least 12 Palestinians and gave a demolition order to the family of prisoner Raghib Ilewi, who Israel accuses of involvement in the shooting of an Israeli settler and his wife earlier this month.

In Abu Dis, east of Jerusalem, Israeli forces detained a young Palestinian, Muhammad Audah Erekat, from his family home.

Israeli forces also stormed the Jenin-district town of al-Yamoun and detained Khalil Mahmoud Qasim Freihat.

Four young Palestinian men were detained in the village of Tuqu east of Bethlehem in the southern West Bank, local sources said.

They were identified as 16-year-old Luay Habis Dakhlallah al-Omour, his brothers Muhammad, 19, and Bilal, 24, as well as Muhammad Ibrahim al-Omour, 21.

An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed a total of 35 detentions. She said that Israeli Border Police detained one Palestinian in Jenin, five in Ramallah, two in Jericho, four in Bethlehem, and seven in Hebron.

She said the army detained an additional 15 Palestinians in Nablus district alone. All the detentions were for “suspected illegal activity,” she said.

The Palestinian Authority Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs said last week that Israeli forces had detained more than 650 Palestinians since the beginning of October, most of them younger than 20 years old.

The committee said in a statement that most of the Palestinians were detained during clashes with Israeli forces, or subsequently in overnight raids on the pretext of resisting Israeli soldiers. (T/P010/R04)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)