Israeli Forces Detain Palestinian Woman for Alleged Knife Possession

Bethlehem, 17 Dzulhijjah 1437/19 September 2016 (MINA) – Israeli forces reportedly detained a Palestinian woman near the illegal Israeli settlement of of Itamar south of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank on Sunday, claiming to have found a knife in her bag she allegedly intended to use in an attack.

Israeli media sites reported that Israeli forces suspected the woman at a security checkpoint near the settlement, before questioning her and finding a knife in her bag.

She was then detained and taken for interrogation. No injuries were reported in the incident.

An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an they were looking into reports to confirm the detention.

Israeli forces have detained a number of Palestinians for allegedly being in possession of knives in recent months following a spate of attacks by Palestinians which has left some 32 Israelis dead since October.

In the same time period, 227 Palestinians have been killed by Israelis, scores of which have been killed at checkpoints during alleged attacks against Israeli soldiers.

While Israel claims many of those were attempting to attack Israelis when they were shot, Palestinians and rights groups have disputed Israel’s version of events in a number of cases.

The incident came amid a spike in violence in the occupied Palestinian territory that has left three Palestinians and one Jordanian shot dead by Israeli forces and two Palestinians seriously injured while allegedly attempting to carry out attacks, while another Palestinian was fatally shot in recent days by Israeli soldiers during a detention raid. (T/R07/R01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)