Tulkarm: Israeli occupation forces Monday detained three Palestinians near Tulkarm refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank, according to local and security sources. They said that the occupying forces rounded up a father along with his son, identified as residents of the refugee camp, at the northern entrance of the camp. Meanwhile, the occupation forces rounded up a young man after taking over his vehicle in the northern neighborhood of the city.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, additional reinforcements of infantry were dispatched to the city of Tulkarm and the adjoining two refugee camps. These forces deployed along Nablus Street and in the vicinity of houses that have already been occupied and turned into military outposts, stopping and inspecting passing vehicles, and thoroughly checking passengers' identity cards. Gun-toting soldiers fired stun grenades at civilians in the northern neighborhood of the city, particularly in the vicinity of Shweika and al-Yunes Circles.
The occupation forces broke into several houses in the Iktaba neighborhood, east of Tulkarm, conducting thorough searches and turning them upside down. While inside one of the houses, the soldiers seized an amount of cash, jewelry, and a map of Palestine. The forces have been waging aggression on Tulkarm along with the nearby refugee camps for 43 consecutive days, resulting in the death of 13 civilians, the detention of dozens, and the displacement of thousands from their houses.
Earlier today, the occupation forces detained at least 18 Palestinians in multiple raids across the occupied West Bank. As part of the predawn and morning raids, the forces re-arrested 10 former prisoners after ransacking their houses in the southern West Bank city of Hebron. They conducted a raid in Beit Ummar town, north of Hebron, searched several houses, rounded up two civilians, and seized a vehicle.
In the Bethlehem governorate, the occupation forces showed up at a house in Dar Salah village, muscled inside, and re-arrested a former prisoner. They also ransacked two houses and detained a civilian from Janata town, east of Bethlehem. In the northern West Bank, Israeli forces detained two civilians, a man in his 30s and a prisoner's wife, and searched their houses in the city of Qalqiliya. In the Ramallah governorate, the sources confirmed a raid in the Jalazone refugee camp, leading to the detention of two teenagers.
The occupation forces frequently raid Palestinian houses almost daily across the West Bank on the pretext of searching for 'wanted' Palestinians, triggering clashes with residents. These raids are conducted with no need for a search warrant, whenever and wherever the military chooses in keeping with its sweeping arbitrary powers. Under Israeli military law, army commanders have full executive, legislative, and judicial authority over 3 million Palestinians living in the West Bank, with Palestinians having no say in how this authority is exercised.
According to the latest figures from Addameer, the Palestinian Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, there are currently 9,500 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centers, including 350 child prisoners and 21 female prisoners. This number includes approximately 3,405 Palestinians placed under 'administrative detention', allowing detention without charge or trial for renewable intervals based on undisclosed evidence that even a detainee's lawyer is barred from viewing. Over the past 50 years, more than 800,000 Palestinians have been imprisoned or detained by Israel, with the figure now believed to be closer to 1 million.