The Israeli army, backed by 15 armored vehicles, invaded the West Bank refugee camp and city of Tulkarem Thursday at dawn. The army fired rounds of live ammunitions and broke into several houses and arrested nine Palestinians from the camp and the city of Tulkarem.
The Maan News Agency reported that the army invaded the refugee camp from Al- Shuhada neighborhood, where the soldiers broke into houses , searching them and destroying people’s belongings, claiming that they were looking for ‘wanted Palestinian resistance men’.
The arrestees were three brothers: Ala’ Al- Din, 17, Khaled, 19, and Mu’tasem Hatem I’raqi, 20, with the Army claiming that their fourth brother, Salah Al-Din, was wanted by the Israeli security. Eyewitnesses said that when the Israeli soldiers didn’t find Salah Al-Din at home, they decided to arrest his brothers instead.
The army also arrested Bassam Mar’e, Mohamad Aufi, Hakam Al Taweel, Ala’ Al Din Mustafa Qassem, 18, and Zaki Mohammad Quzah, 45, after breaking into their house, searching it and forcing its residents out.
In the city of Tulkarem, the Army invaded several houses and arrested ex-detainee Tareq Faisal Al Zalta, 26, who had previously been arrested and released.
One of the houses army broken into by the Army belongs to Salah Al Balahawi, 40, in Irtah — one of the suburbs of Tulkarem. Balahawi was not in the house, and no arrests were reported there.
Eyewitnesses reported that soldiers also invaded the eastern section of Tulkarem, breaking into a store and confiscating all the contents of the store, saying that the store allegedly belongs to one of the members of the Hamas resistance movement.
