As a wave of protests and sit-ins are being organized in several West Bank cities and towns to mark the Prisoners Day in Palestine, the Israeli army continued to abduct civilians. On Tuesday at least 15 Palestinian civilians were abducted by the Israeli army in several West Bank areas.
The Israeli army invaded on Tuesday at dawn the city of Nablus and the nearby Balata refugee camp located in the northern part of the West Bank. Israeli troops attacked and searched scores of homes and forced residents outside, eyewitnesses reported.
The search campaign in the city of Nablus and Balata camp lasted until the morning, when the invading force left the area taking six residents- among them one woman and three brothers- to an unknown detention camp.
Local sources reported that among those abducted were Najwa Hashash, 19, Ahmad Abu Salha, 26, and two of his brothers Mos'ab, 23, and Bara', 21. In the meantime another Israeli army force stormed the city of Qalqilia and abducted another six civilians.
Soldiers attacked and ransacked a number of homes in the city center, troops fired sound bombs and live rounds into the searched homes, local sources reported. In this invasion the army abducted five residents and took them to an unknown location. Among those five were Basem Yassin, 14, and Bashier Nofal, 25.
Late at night on Monday, and undercover Israeli army force attacked a grocery shop in the city and abducted the owner. Eyewitnesses stated that a group of undercover Israeli soldiers attacked the shop if Aref Nofal, then forced him into their car and took him to an unknown location. Saleh Sawafta, 21, and Ahmad Fowzi, 26, from the northern West Bank city of Tubass were also among those 15 abducted on Tuesday morning by the Israeli forces. The two men were on their to the nearby city of Jenin when they were stopped by Israeli soldiers stationed at a military checkpoint near Jenin. Eyewitnesses stated that the two were handcuffed and forced into an army vehicle and taken to an unknown detention camp.
Elsewhere, in the southern part of the West Bank, the Israeli army attacked and searched a number of homes during a pre-dawn invasion of Aida refugee camp located in the city of Bethlehem on Tuesday morning. Mo'yad Abu Sa'da, 16, was taken from his father's homes to an unknown detention camp, local sources reported.
April 17th marks the Palestinian Prisoners' Day every year. The Palestinian community commemorates that day in honor and respect to those being held in Israeli detention camps against international law. There are at least 11,000 Palestinians being held in Israeli detention camps, among them 120 women and around 400 children.
