Israeli forces have taken captive at least 380 Palestinians, in raids across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, over the past 20 days, including 21 on Thursday alone. The Palestinian Prisoners Society stated that Israeli authorities have engaged in a wide-ranging crackdown on Palestinians which has led to the arrests of nearly 200 people in East Jerusalem since the beginning of November.
Ma’an News Agency reports that these figures come amid a growing instability in Jerusalem, while daily protest marches by Palestinians have been held across the city, as Israeli authorities are once again accused of implementing a collective punishment in their response to a series of attacks on Israelis by individual Jerusalem Palestinians. Reports of serious violence against and, even, the murder of Palestinians by Israelis are surfacing at an almost daily rate.
In addition to some 190 Palestinians detained in occupied East Jerusalem, the PPS said that 70 were taken from Hebron, 32 from Ramallah, 24 from Bethlehem, 18 from Jenin, 14 from Tulkarem, 14 from Nablus, nine from Tubas, five from Salfit and four from Qalqiliya.
The arrests add to the more than 5,000 Palestinians who are already being held in Israeli prisons, including hundreds without charge or trial, under a procedure known as ‘administrative detention’ which dates back to the time of British Mandate Palestine.
On Thursday morning, Israeli forces reportedly abducted dozens more across East Jerusalem and the West Bank, both of which have been under Israeli military occupation since 1967.
A military spokesman said that they detained 20 Palestinians in the West Bank, including five ‘suspected of taking part in riots in Jenin (refugee) camp,’ three east of Qalqiliya, two southeast of Ramallah, eight in the Bethlehem area, three in al-Fawwar refugee camp south of Hebron, three in Deir Samit west of Hebron, and one in Beit Awwa southwest of Hebron.
PPS was able to identify only fourteen of those taken in the West Bank.
According to their statement, Abd al-Rahman Atiq and Ahmad Mahmoud Jumaa were detained in Jenin in the northern West Bank.
In Bethlehem, troops detained 19-year-old Zeidan Mahmoud Hayyan, while in Qalqiliya, to the north, forces took both 17-year-old Abdullah Khirfan and his brother Muhammad, 21.
North of Hebron, 20-year-old Iyad Omar Sabarna, 25-year-old Rami Khalid Sabarna, and 29-year-old Ayman Zaaqiq were taken in Beit Ummar.
Israeli forces also kidnapped Rami Jihad al-Khatib, Khalid al-Hroub, Islam al-Hidmi, Khalid Baradiya, Hamza al-Adam and Muhammad al-Harbi from different Hebron district villages.
In East Jerusalem, PPS stated that Israeli police detained seven young men and minors.
Lawyer Mufid al-Hajj, who works with the society, identified four detainees as Ahmad Agha, Samir Najib, and Ubada Najib (all minors), in addition to Wahid Bakri.
The wave of abductions comes as Israeli authorities continue with a summer arrest campaign which led to the jailing of thousands of Palestinians suspected in taking part in protests against the Israeli assault on Gaza which left nearly 2,200 Palestinians dead, in addition to the brutal murder of Palestinian teenager Muhammad Abu Khdeir, who was burned to death by a group of Israeli settlers on July 2nd.
