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Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for Monday, December, 19, 2016.

Israeli troops kidnap a dozen civilians and close villages during invasions targeting West Bank communities. These stories, and more, coming up, stay tuned.

Israeli soldiers abducted, overnight and at dawn Monday, at least thirteen Palestinians in the West Bank, including seven from Shu’fat refugee camp, in occupied Jerusalem, the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) reported.

The PPS said the soldiers invaded and searched many homes in the Old City of Jerusalem, and Shu’fat refugee camp, and abducted seven Palestinians.

In Nablus, in the northern part of the West Bank, the soldiers abducted two Palestinians after searching their homes. Also in northern West Bank the soldiers abducted one Palestinian after searching homes in Jenin city.

In Bethlehem, the soldiers also searched homes and abducted one youth , from Beit Fajjar town, south of the city.

Meanwhile In Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank, the soldiers searched homes and workshops, and abducted one man.

In related news, the Israeli army said it arrested one Palestinian in Hebron city, reportedly for running a weapon’s manufacturing workshop, located in a residential building in Hebron.

The army stated this was one of the largest workshops to be uncovered in the West Bank, and that it included 15 lathe machines, 70 rifle barrels, triggers and connectors, five magazines, M-16 rifle, and various weapon supplies, including large cache of bullets.

It estimated the number of persons working there to be between ten and fifteen, and that the workshop was concealed in a ground level of a residential building, where the owner and his family reside.

In other news, Israeli soldiers imposed, on Monday at dawn, a strict siege, and closed roads with concrete blocks and sand hills, isolating the village of Shuqba and Rantis villages, northeast of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, and prevented the Palestinians from entering or leaving them.

The Israeli army claimed the closures were enforced after a shooting attack that left one Israeli colonist injured, near ‘Aboud village, northwest of Ramallah.

The soldiers invaded ‘Aboud, and searched homes, before surrounding and isolating it, including placing concrete blocks, and prevented the Palestinians from entering or leaving it.

And that’s all for today from the IMEMC News; this was the Monday, December, 19, 2016, news round-up from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. From more news and updates, please visit our website at www.imemc.org Today’s report has been brought to you by George Rishmawi and me Ghassan Bannoura.