Israeli soldiers detain 14 Palestinians in West Bank

Israeli military raids in Palestinian towns, villages, and refugee camps are a daily occurrence in the occupied West Bank.The UN recorded an average of 95 weekly raids in the occupied West Bank in 2016, and 78 weekly raids on average thus far in 2017.

Approximately 6,300 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons, including some 300 minors, and 500 Palestinians who have not been charged or tried, according to Palestinian prisoners’ rights group Addameer.

Israeli forces raided a number of homes and farms in the village of Karmel east of the village of Yatta in the southern occupied West Bank, according to local Palestinian sources.

Locals said that Israeli troops stormed Karmel and ransacked and searched a house and a farm belonging to Sami al-Adra. The houses of Mahmoud Ayid Abu Iram and Muhammad Ahmad Abu Iram were also searched.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces detained a young Palestinian man from the town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron city, after he obeyed a summons to appear for interrogation at Israel’s Gush Etzion detention center.

Local activist Muhammad Ayyad Awwad said that the summons was delivered to the father of the detainee, 18-year-old Ahmad Adil al-Zaaqiq, during raid earlier this week.

At the time, Israeli forces broke into the home while al-Zaaqiq was not there, and intensively searched the house, upending the family's furniture and personal belongings, according to Awwad.

Official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that during predawn raids in Beit Ummar on Monday, a number of homes were searched, sparking clashes that were suppressed by Israeli forces with live ammunition and tear gas, though no injuries were reported.

An Israeli army spokesperson said another detention was carried out in the southern occupied West Bank, in the village of Deir Samit, in the western outskirts of the Hebron district.

Israeli forces detained two Palestinian youths after raiding and searching their homes in the Jerusalem-area towns of Abu Dis and al-Sawahira, Wafa reported. An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed the detention in al-Sawahira.

The spokesperson added that six Palestinians were detained in the village of Nabi Saleh and one Palestinian was detained in Ramallah city.

According to Wafa, Israeli forces detained two Palestinians, including a teacher, after raiding their homes in in the village of Mirka in the northernmost West Bank district of Jenin. An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed the two detentions.

Israeli forces stormed several other villages and towns in the Jenin area, conducting a large-scale search campaign into residents homes, according to Wafa. An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed that one Palestinian was detained in the village of Sanur, south of Jenin city.


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