Israeli Soldiers Detain 15 Palestinians in Jerusalem, West Bank

Rasa - Israeli Soldiers on Tuesday detained at least 15 Palestinians during predawn and night raids across occupied Eastern Jerusalem and the West Bank districts, according to local and security sources.

News ID: 425084

Date: 15 November 2016 - 23:39

RNA - In Jerusalem, Israeli police detained at least eight Palestinians, including six minors, in the neighborhood districts of Silwan, al-Issawiya, and Ras al-Amoud, WAFA reported.

Meanwhile, Israeli army reportedly detained four Palestinians in Hebron area, two from Silwad village near Ramallah, and at least one minor from Bethlehem.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces demolished a residential structure and a community center in the village of Um al-Kheir, South of Hebron in the West Bank, according to local sources.

WAFA correspondent said an Israeli army force accompanied by staff from the Israeli Civil Administration broke into the village, where they demolished a community center and a tinplate-made house, under the pretext of construction without a permit.

The center was used by the village’s residents for educational and social purposes. It was demolished first in August this year by local villagers, before it was demolished again this time.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army notified Palestinians in the town of Beit Ummar, North of Hebron, to stop the construction of two homes in the town, also under the pretext of lacking an Israeli construction permit.

Israel rarely grants Palestinians permits to build in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, although the estimated 550,000 Jewish Israeli settlers are more easily given building permits and allowed to expand their homes and properties.

Nearly all Palestinian applications for building permits in Area C, the 60 percent of the West Bank under full Israeli military control, are denied by the Israeli authorities, forcing communities to build illegally.

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