Israeli troops arrest 20 in W Bank
Israeli occupation troops have detained 20 Palestinians in the West Bank overnight, and one officer has been lightly wounded after his Jeep ran over a bomb, the military said.
Among those detained during the raids that began on Monday night were suspected members of the resistance groups Islamic Jihad and Hamas, the largest and most powerful Palestinian faction.
Most of the arrests were made in the northern West Bank, around the towns of Jenin, Nablus and Ram Allah, an Israeli army spokesman said.
One Israeli soldier was wounded when his vehicle ran over a bomb in Nablus, the spokesman said.
Early on Tuesday, clashes erupted between Palestinian fighters and Israeli forces in the central city of Jenin, Aljazeera’s correspondent in the West Bank, Ali al-Sumodi, reported.
Offices raided
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A blast in Nablus wounded an |
Israeli forces occupied the headquarters of Islamic Jihad and raided the movement’s other offices in the city.
The army also raided the Research and Studies Centre and the al-Baraa Society for Muslim Girls.
They confiscated documents and left the contents of the offices strewn around, Islamic Jihad leader Shaikh Sharif Tahayna told Aljazeera.
Qabatya
In the town of Qabatya, south of Jenin, Israeli forces raided the homes of several members of resistance movements. Five Palestinians were detained, al-Sumodi said.
Israeli troops occupied houses in the town and snipers took positions on rooftops.
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Israeli military vehicles entered |
Israel said the town hosts cells of military wings of resistance groups.
The troops also raided the home of Muhammad Nasr, a bomber who carried out an Islamic Jihad attack four years ago. Members of his family were interrogated, threatened and told to hand over Nasr, al-Sumodi said.
In Birka village, near Qabatya, Israeli forces raided the home of an activist of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, and arrested his brother.
Youth shot
A Palestinian youth was wounded by Israeli gunfire when soldiers raided the Balata refugee camp early on Tuesday, al-Sumodi said.
Israeli military vehicles closed off all entrances into the camp, conducting house-to-house searches.
Wounded Palestinian dies
Also on Tuesday, a Palestinian died of injuries caused when Israeli troops fired on protesters before completing their pullout from the Gaza Strip in September, a medical source said.
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Israeli troops fired on protesting |
Hani Abu Sawawin, 30, from al-Qarara village near the southern Gaza town of Khan Yunis, was wounded hours before Israeli troops rolled out of the Palestinian territory on 12 September.
He was treated in hospital in the southern Israeli city of Beersheva but had since returned to hospital in Khan Yunis, where he died.
Six Palestinians were wounded on 11 September as Israeli troops guarding evacuated Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip opened fire at crowds who had been throwing stones at their positions.
Abu Sawawin’s death brings to 4879 the number of people killed since the start of the Palestinian intifada in September 2000. More than three-quarters of the victims have been Palestinians.