Police begin mass arrests of Palestinian citizens in Israel, conduct more raids on West Bank

Separation Wall, Bethlehem - image ICN/JS

Source: WAFA

While mopping up operations are underway in Gaza, as the ceasefire appears to be holding - last night Israeli police launched a wave of mass arrests of Palestinian citizens of Israel, as part of violent crackdown on recent protests against Israel's brutal settler-colonialism and apartheid regime.

Thousands of notorious Israeli border police officers and reserve brigades started a large-scale detention campaign to arrest more than 500 young Palestinian citizens of Israel as part of what Israel dubbed as "Operation Law and Order" to "settle accounts" with the latter over their participation in protests against Israel's colonial policies, including the forced displacements in Sheikh Jarrah, encroachments upon Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and settler mob violence.

To read the WAFA report click HERE

Meanwhile in the West Bank, Israeli forces conducted raids and arrests in Kafr Dan village, northwest of Jenin city, in Jaba' town, at the Mavo Dotan military checkpoint, in Nablus district, in Aqabat Jaber refugee camp, Jericho district, in the neighbourhood of Khallet Hadur, al-Tuwani village, south of Hebron.

During the al-Tuwani raid, the soldiers stormed several houses, hit a mother and her five-year-old daughter, inflicting bruises in her eye. They also destroyed house windows, damaged property in the houses, and took phones away of people who tried to film the operation.

Israeli forces frequently raid Palestinian houses almost on a daily basis across the West Bank on the pretext of searching for "wanted" Palestinians, triggering clashes with residents.

These raids, which take place also in areas under 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 three million Palestinians living in the West Bank. Palestinians have no say in how this authority is exercised.