On Wednesday soldiers abducted a mother of five
from Doura town, near Hebron in the south of the West Bank, in order to pressurise her wanted husband
to surrender, Palestinian sources reported.
Local sources in the town reported that troops invaded it during early dawn hours and took resident Andaleeb Al Hroub prisoner after breaking into her house, located near the Palestinian Preventive Security headquarters, and took her to an unknown destination.
Moneer Al Hroub, the husband of Andaleeb, has been wanted to the Israeli security since five years for his activities with the resistance.
Soldiers repeatedly broke into the house of Al Hroub and voiced repeated threats to arrest his wife is he does not surrender to the Israeli forces.
Baiting a prisoner by arresting a relative in barred by the international Law, but recently several incidents were exposed to the media indicating the Israeli soldiers have been abusing family members of wanted activists and arresting their wives, sisters or mothers in order to force them to surrender.
The practice of "baiting" — arresting the family member of a wanted person in order to get that person to surrender — is an internationally condemned practice that is in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a signatory.
On March 312006, Israel carried a military offensive dubbed “ongoing pressure” in Nablus city, suburbs and refugee camps of Nablus.
The 15,000 residents of Nablus city and its four refugee camp have become almost used to the daily schedule of the Israeli army, which invades nightly after midnight, and stays in town until dawn, firing randomly and ransacking Palestinian homes. The Army has also invaded during the daytime, arresting and detaining the mothers and wives of alleged resistance fighters.
Amongst the arrestees identified were the mothers of fighters Sufyian Qandeel, Hani Ewejan, Sami Estaita, Ameen Lebada and the wide of Nasser Akoub, the wife and the mother-in-law of the fighter Fadi Qfesha, in addition two youths, Hussam Mefleh and Nidda Ameera, who were rounded up during Wednesday's invasion.
All of the arrestees were taken to the Israeli occupation army camp Huwwara, where they were subjected to 10-12 hours of interrogation.
The wife of fighter Nasser Akoub said, "We were all questioned separately, the Army took photos of us and threatened to re-arrest us again if the wanted fighters do not surrender."
She added, "the army threatened to arrest me and my sons to force Nasser to turn himself in."
Palestinians who join the resistance generally leave their homes, and families do not know their whereabouts.
