Israeli troops abducted on Tuesday at dawn three residents from Awarta village, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, after surrounding and breaking into their rented apartment in Betunia, west of the central West Bank city of Ramallah. Local sources reported that soldiers surrounded the building in Betunia and forced the residents out of their flats before kidnapping three of them and moving them to the Ofer detention and interrogation center.
The sources added that residents, including several children and women, were forced to stay out of their homes in the cold for several hours. The invasion was initiated by the army at 3 a.m., near dawn and lasted until 9 a.m.
The three kidnapped residents were identified as No’man Salim Awwad, 40 years old, his brother Noah, 29, and Yazid Hasan Awwad, 19. No’man suffers from kidney failure and requires constant medical attention.
Noah, the brother of No’man, is a physician, took his brother to Ramallah for medical treatment and the two planning to stay there until treatment sessions are concluded.
Following the fatal stabbing of a settler family in Itamar settlement, near Awarta, on March 11, Israeli soldiers conducted repeated invasions into Awarta village and kidnapped hundreds of residents, including women and children.
Despite the fact that there is no decisive indication that the stabber came from Awarta, and despite some Israeli reports suggesting the stabber might have been a foreign worker who works at the settlement, Israel rushed to accuse the Palestinians for the attack, and concentrated into arrest campaign in Awarta.
All of the abducted residents were placed under interrogation before most of them were released. 11 of them are still detained, including Julian Niyaz, 16, and his father.
His mother was also abducted but was released later on. Five children from Awarta are among the residents who are still imprisoned by Israel.
