The Israeli army took five Palestinian residents prisoner from different West Bank areas on Sunday, and barred the access of others.
Mayor Amr Kashor of the Beit Elrosh village, south of Hebron, told reporters that the Israeli army swept into the village and took prisoner Montaser Khallaf,22, and Baeil Harbiyat, both linked with Fatah.
In the Artas village south of Bethlehem the Israeli army took prisoner a 16 year-old Palestinian boy, Mo’ad Jawabra. Before doing so they beat him severely. The Israeli soldiers took Jawabra to a location near the Bedo village, just north of Jerusalem.
The Israeli army also abducted two other Palestinians from the Badras village, to the west of Ramallah, after invading the village early in the morning. The victims were identified as Said Khalifa,17 and Ehab Abdo, 18, local sources confirmed.
Also today, the Israeli army barred access of tens of Palestinian farmers from Tubas town into the Aghwar area, to the east of the town. Witnesses said that the Israeli soldiers manning a military checkpoint denied farmers access to their fields to harvest their crops.
In a related development, the Israeli army denied the residents of Jenin access through the Beit Ebba checkpoint, west of Nablus city, Palestinian local sources said. The sources added that the Israeli soldier forced Palestinian vehicles to reverse and take the Badan bypass road, which is too costly for the locals.
Restriction of Palestinian movement has been one of the main Israeli army practices throughout the past seven years, a practice which human rights groups consider to be collective punishment.
