Update: At dawn on Wednesday, Israeli soldiers invaded and ransacked dozens of homes in the Bethlehem governorate, south of the occupied capital, Jerusalem, in the West Bank, abducted eighteen Palestinians, including siblings, and threatened further severe restrictions and violations against the residents.
Media sources reported that the soldiers invaded several parts of the governorate, breaking into homes, violently searching them, and interrogating dozens of Palestinians while inspecting their ID cards.
They added that fourteen of the abducted Palestinians, including siblings, were taken from their homes in Husan village, west of Bethlehem.
They have been identified as Mohammad Rafat Hamamra, 27, Mohammad Yasser Hamamra, 27, Abdul-Rahman Hamamra, 20, Bilal Awad Hamamra, 19, Mo’taz Tareq Hamamra, Abdul-Hamid Sami Hamamra, 30, Mohammad Jamal Za’oul, 29, Mo’taz Tareq Hamamra, Yazan Mahmoud Za’oul, 21, Bassel Mohammad Za’oul, 18, Mohammad Ali Sabateen, 18, Mustafa Mohammad Sabateen, 21, Qussai Mohammad Sabateen, 21, Qassam ‘Amira, 19, Qotad Nasser Shousha, 20, Montaser Jamal Shousha, Mahmoud Adel Shousha, and Yazan Khaled Shousha, 27.
It is worth mentioning that, after hours of interrogation and assaults, causing injuries, the soldiers released the abductees, except for Mo’taz Tareq Hamamra, Montaser Jamal Shousha, and Mahmoud Adel Shousha.
The soldiers also abducted Arsalan Manasra, 20, from his home in Wad Fukin village, west of Bethlehem.
In related news, the director of the Husan Village Council, Rami Hamamra, has confirmed the postponement of the beginning of the school day in all village schools to 9:00 in the morning to ensure the safety of students.
Additionally, the Israeli soldiers distributed leaflets threatening severe measures and restrictions on Husan residents through repeated invasions, abductions, and other violations, including the destruction of lands and property, if the protests against the occupations and the colonies did not stop.
The latest abductions in Bethlehem are part of the ongoing Israeli escalation, which includes assassinations and the killing of hundreds of Palestinians, abductions, and the demolition of homes and structures across the occupied West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem.
On Tuesday, Israeli soldiers killed Samir Abdul-Rahim Amer, 55, near the Apartheid Wall, north of Tulkarem in the northwestern part of the West Bank.
It is worth mentioning that, since October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation army and the illegal Israeli paramilitary colonizers have killed 705 Palestinians; 188 of them in Jenin, 151 in Tulkarem, 72 in Nablus, 71 in Hebron, 59 in Ramallah and Al-Biereh, 57 in Tubas, 28 in Qalqilia, 28 in Jerusalem, 19 in Bethlehem, 16 in Jerusalem, 12 in Jericho and the Northern Plains, and 4 in Salfit.
In the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces have killed 41,252 Palestinians, most of whom are women and children, and injured 95,497 citizens, while the bodies of thousands of citizens remained buried under the rubble of the devastated coastal enclave.
