Israeli Forces Detain 18 Palestinians in West Bank Raids

Rasa - Israeli forces detained at least 18 Palestinians many of whom were teenagers in military raids on Tuesday across the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian sources.

News ID: 425918

Date: 20 December 2016 - 22:28

RNA - According to a statement from the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS), six Palestinian youth were detained from the Jerusalem district, who were identified by the organization as Amer Ubeid, 13-year-old Muhammad Dari, 13-year-old Ahmad Zeidani, 17-year-old Muhammad Mustafa, 17-year-old Khalid Abu Ghush, and 22-year-old Amer Zeidani, Ma'an reported.

Two young Palestinians were detained from the village of Rantis West of Ramallah in the Central occupied West Bank. The statement identified them as Ahmad Ali Nadav, 28, and Muhammad Jamal Husha, 27.

Clashes broke out in the village following the raids, as Israeli forces fire rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades, according to local sources.

Israeli forces detained 18-year-old Firas Amjad Jabir from al-Amari refugee camp near Ramallah. He was first summoned by Israeli intelligence for questioning before he was taken into custody.

In the Southern Bethlehem district, PPS said that Israeli forces detained 18-year-old Muhammad Mahmoud Taqatqa in the village of Beit Fajjar, where 14-year-old Qusai Nael Taqatqa was detained in a raid the previous day.

Locals told Ma'an that Israeli troops stormed the town after midnight Tuesday morning and ransacked several homes before they detained Muhammad Taqatqa and delivered summons to 11-year-old Ali Deriyya and 12-year-old Awni Taqatqa, demanding that the children appear for questioning at Israel's Gush Etzion military base.

Israeli forces also detained Ubaidah Jabour in the northern West Bank town of Salem in Nablus district, according to PPS.

The PPS statement highlighted that Israeli forces also detained three Palestinians from the Hebron district in the Southern West Bank. They were identified as 20-year-old Muhammad Hammad al-Alami in the village of Beit Ummar, Ahmad Badran Ibruish, and Muhammad Talib Awad.

Furthermore, Muhammad Mahmoud Alawneh from the Jenin district was detained while he was inside Israel, according to PPS.

Israeli raids in Palestinian towns, villages, and refugee camps are a daily occurrence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

According to prisoners rights group Addameer, 7,000 Palestinians were held in Israeli prisons as of October, including some 400 children. The organization estimates that 40 percent of Palestinian men have been detained by Israel at some point in their lives.

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