Minor among three Palestinians detained from southern West Bank village

Israeli occupation forces Tuesday evening detained three Palestinians, including a minor, from the Husan village, west of the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, according to a local official.

Rami Hamamra, head of Husan Village Council, said that the occupation forces barged their way into the eastern entrance of the village and ransacked several houses, simultaneously while opening gunfire and tear gas canisters.

He added that the gun-toting soldiers rounded up two brothers, aged 19 and 17 years, and ransacked the house of their family, turning it upside down.

He added that the occupation soldiers also rounded up another teen from the village.

Earlier today, the occupation forces conducted multiple raids across the occupied West Bank, detaining at least 15 Palestinians.

Israeli 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, which also take place in areas unde
r the full control of the Palestinian Authority, 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. Palestinians have 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 10,100 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centres, including 270 children and 95 female prisoners.

This number includes 3,398 Palestinians placed under ‘administrative detention’, which allows the detention of Palestinians without charge or trial for renewable intervals ranging between three and six months based on undisclosed evidence that even a detainee’s lawyer is barred from viewing.

The mass arrest of Palestinians is nothing new. According to a 2017
report by Addameer, over the past 50 years, more than 800,000 Palestinians have been imprisoned or detained by Israel, this figure is now believed to be closer to 1 million. This means that about 40% of Palestinian men and boys living under military occupation have been deprived of their freedom. Almost every Palestinian family has suffered the imprisonment of a loved one.

Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA