Beit Ummar: Several Palestinians Thursday evening suffocated in an Israeli army raid in Beit Ummar town, south of the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, according to a local activist.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, Mohammad Awad reported that the occupying forces intruded and established a checkpoint at the Saffa Circle area in the town. They stopped Palestinian-registered vehicles, smashed the windows of some, and mistreated the passengers.
Awad further noted that the heavily armed soldiers fired numerous tear gas canisters toward civilians' houses, leading to several civilians suffocating from excessive tear gas inhalation. Fortunately, all suffocation cases were treated at the scene.
The occupation forces frequently raid Palestinian houses almost daily across the West Bank under the pretext of searching for 'wanted' Palestinians, which often results in clashes with residents. These raids are conducted without a search warrant at any time or place chosen by the military, in line with their extensive arbitrary powers.
Under Israeli military law, army commanders possess full executive, legislative, and judicial authority over the 3 million Palestinians residing in the West Bank. Palestinians have no say in how this authority is exercised.