Israeli forces have continued wide military invasions since Monday, targeting homes of current and former political prisoners and families of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the Shu’fat refugee camp and the town of Anata, north of occupied Jerusalem.
The ongoing operation has included violent invasions, abductions, summonses, and broad restrictions on residents and commercial shops.
The Jerusalem Governorate said Wednesday evening that Israeli forces invaded the home of former detainee Majed Abu Qteish—who has been forcibly exiled to Turkey since 2011—confiscated his mother’s phone, and attempted to call him without success.
Soldiers then photographed his mother with an Israeli flag behind her and sent the image to him via WhatsApp.
Troops also broke into the home of former detainee Mohammad Abu Qteish, Majed’s nephew, abducted him, and subjected him to field interrogation, while his father was summoned to a nearby military roadblock.
The invasions included a heavy deployment of Israeli forces throughout the refugee camp and the town, the installation of military roadblocks, and the breaking into dozens of homes and commercial shops.
Soldiers confiscated and destroyed merchandise, issued fines to residents and shop owners, and carried out additional abductions and summonses targeting young men and boys.
Several recently released detainees reported that Israeli forces summoned some of them by phone or during home invasions, while others were abducted and held inside makeshift rooms set up at the military roadblock at the refugee camp’s main entrance.
They were forced to sit on the ground while handcuffed, prohibited from speaking, and subjected to beatings and shoving during detention and interrogation.
During the invasions, Israeli forces raised large Israeli flags throughout the Shu’fat refugee camp and took photographs inside residential neighborhoods.
Troops also circulated video recordings showing the invasion of commercial shops and the destruction of their contents, in what residents described as a systematic campaign of intimidation targeting the camp’s population.
