30 apr 2015
Palestinian Authority Security Forces (PASF) have been intensifying
political arrests against Hamas members in various West Bank
governorates. The forces arrested thirteen of them and summoned two
others for investigation over the past 24 hours.
Meanwhile, a political captive in PA jails announced his open hunger strike protesting the extension of his detention.
In Ramallah, the PASF rounded up six citizens including two brothers. Some of them are ex-detainees in Israeli jails. Others were arrested for several times and some of them are university students.
The PA arrests were performed after storming some of the houses of the political detainees.
The PA preventive forces in Ramallah extended the detention of a university student for 15 days who announced going on hunger strike demanding his immediate release.
In Nablus, the PA forces arrested four citizens including two engineers. The forces, however, failed to detain the Islamic bloc’s representative in An-Najah National University after they broke into his home.
In Jenin, the forces rounded up a university student and continued to detain another citizen for 55 days in a row.
In Qalqilya, the PA forces arrested an ex-detainee who spent 13 years in Israeli jails after breaking into and wreaking havoc in his house for search purposes. The forces arrested him despite that he has just got married five days ago.
The forces confiscated the detainee’s private cellphone and some SIM cards for his family members.
The forces also summoned the head of Studies and Research Department at the Supreme Judicial Council Yasser Hammad for investigation on a political background.
In Tulkarem, the forces arrested a university student and confiscated his personal computer after storming his house in a town near the city. He is a political prisoner, an ex-detainee and was arrested for several times before.
Meanwhile, a political captive in PA jails announced his open hunger strike protesting the extension of his detention.
In Ramallah, the PASF rounded up six citizens including two brothers. Some of them are ex-detainees in Israeli jails. Others were arrested for several times and some of them are university students.
The PA arrests were performed after storming some of the houses of the political detainees.
The PA preventive forces in Ramallah extended the detention of a university student for 15 days who announced going on hunger strike demanding his immediate release.
In Nablus, the PA forces arrested four citizens including two engineers. The forces, however, failed to detain the Islamic bloc’s representative in An-Najah National University after they broke into his home.
In Jenin, the forces rounded up a university student and continued to detain another citizen for 55 days in a row.
In Qalqilya, the PA forces arrested an ex-detainee who spent 13 years in Israeli jails after breaking into and wreaking havoc in his house for search purposes. The forces arrested him despite that he has just got married five days ago.
The forces confiscated the detainee’s private cellphone and some SIM cards for his family members.
The forces also summoned the head of Studies and Research Department at the Supreme Judicial Council Yasser Hammad for investigation on a political background.
In Tulkarem, the forces arrested a university student and confiscated his personal computer after storming his house in a town near the city. He is a political prisoner, an ex-detainee and was arrested for several times before.
29 apr 2015
Police in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip beat and arrested protesters on Wednesday at a youth rally in the north of the besieged coastal territory, an AFP correspondent said.
More than 400 demonstrators gathered in Shujaiyeh, a neighborhood in eastern Gaza City that was razed during a July-August war between Hamas and Israel, urging reconstruction and calling for an end to intra-Palestinian division.
Plainclothes police officers entered the crowd, beating a number of protesters without causing serious injury, the AFP correspondent said.
They then arrested at least seven people, according to witnesses. The Hamas-run interior ministry said in a statement that the crowd had grown violent, forcing police to intervene "to protect the lives of those participating, after which calm prevailed".
The Gaza war, which killed over 2,200 Palestinians and 73 on the Israeli side, has left 100,000 people homeless in the tiny coastal territory, home to 1.8 million people. Reconstruction of homes has barely begun.
Hamas and their West Bank-based rivals Fatah have failed to implement a unity deal they signed in April last year. The deal was meant to hand over control of Gaza to the Western-supported Palestinian Authority, which Fatah dominates. With Hamas continuing to control Gaza, Israel has left in place its eight-year blockade, which has largely banned the import of building materials, fearing they could be used by militants to make weapons.
More than 400 demonstrators gathered in Shujaiyeh, a neighborhood in eastern Gaza City that was razed during a July-August war between Hamas and Israel, urging reconstruction and calling for an end to intra-Palestinian division.
Plainclothes police officers entered the crowd, beating a number of protesters without causing serious injury, the AFP correspondent said.
They then arrested at least seven people, according to witnesses. The Hamas-run interior ministry said in a statement that the crowd had grown violent, forcing police to intervene "to protect the lives of those participating, after which calm prevailed".
The Gaza war, which killed over 2,200 Palestinians and 73 on the Israeli side, has left 100,000 people homeless in the tiny coastal territory, home to 1.8 million people. Reconstruction of homes has barely begun.
Hamas and their West Bank-based rivals Fatah have failed to implement a unity deal they signed in April last year. The deal was meant to hand over control of Gaza to the Western-supported Palestinian Authority, which Fatah dominates. With Hamas continuing to control Gaza, Israel has left in place its eight-year blockade, which has largely banned the import of building materials, fearing they could be used by militants to make weapons.
27 apr 2015
Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) Fathi Qar’awi on Sunday said the Birzeit elections, sweepingly won by Hamas, would be probably the last called in the West Bank, particularly after the administration at An-Najah and al-Khalil universities unexpectedly called off projected elections.
MP Qar’awi slammed, in a statement issued by the PLC information office, the abduction of the coordinator for the elections committee at the Birzeit University, which coincided with a meeting called for by PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas to scold the Fatah-affiliated student bloc for being overthrown in the latest election race.
Qar’awi spoke out against the ongoing persecution of the members of the Islamic Bloc, branding it a barefaced proof of the despotism perpetrated by the PA in the West Bank.
“Had the Palestinian Authority known that the Islamic Bloc would win, they would have used weapons to stop that,” he charged.
He said the PA leadership would try every possible means to call off elections at all campuses so as to stop Hamas from winning.
The MP further warned of the PA’s lack of sincerity and commitment as regards ongoing calls to restructure home affairs in the West Bank.
He hailed the wisdom and tolerance maintained by the representatives of the Islamic Bloc both before and after the ballot vote.
“But other parties will surely try to stand as stumbling blocks and work on paralyzing any initiatives launched by the next student council, to be headed by the Islamic Bloc,” he opined.
MP Qar’awi slammed, in a statement issued by the PLC information office, the abduction of the coordinator for the elections committee at the Birzeit University, which coincided with a meeting called for by PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas to scold the Fatah-affiliated student bloc for being overthrown in the latest election race.
Qar’awi spoke out against the ongoing persecution of the members of the Islamic Bloc, branding it a barefaced proof of the despotism perpetrated by the PA in the West Bank.
“Had the Palestinian Authority known that the Islamic Bloc would win, they would have used weapons to stop that,” he charged.
He said the PA leadership would try every possible means to call off elections at all campuses so as to stop Hamas from winning.
The MP further warned of the PA’s lack of sincerity and commitment as regards ongoing calls to restructure home affairs in the West Bank.
He hailed the wisdom and tolerance maintained by the representatives of the Islamic Bloc both before and after the ballot vote.
“But other parties will surely try to stand as stumbling blocks and work on paralyzing any initiatives launched by the next student council, to be headed by the Islamic Bloc,” he opined.
Dozens of Gazan students organized Sunday morning a protest vigil against PA systematic political arrests against their colleagues in Birzeit University in West Bank.
The vigil was organized by the Islamic bloc in Gaza’s universities following PA security forces’ arrest of the representative of the Islamic bloc in the Preparatory Committee for the election of Birzeit University Jihad Salim.
On his part, spokesman for Hamas Movement Sami Abu Zuhri stated that his group is obliged to make “stark choices” in light of the state of manipulation and disregard in dealing with Gaza’s crises.
Abu Zuhri strongly denounced PA continued political arrests against the Islamic bloc students in West Bank especially after the bloc has won the majority of seats in Birzeit student council elections.
He said that the Islamic bloc’s victory in students elections was a clear message that resistance project could never be vanished. Hamas is stronger than many expect, said Abu Zuhri.
He pointed out that the continued political arrests of students at Birzeit University prove that Fatah movement does not believe in democracy and elections.
Abu Zuhri called on the unity government to bear its responsibilities towards the students’ political arrests.
In his turn, the Islamic bloc official in Gaza Strip Hani Maqbel expressed his total rejection of the “criminal acts” against students at Birzeit University.
Commenting on the issue, Haaretz Hebrew newspaper wrote Sunday that "Hamas has scored a convincing victory in the elections for the student council of Birzeit University, which is considered the most liberal of all West Bank Palestinian universities and a reliable indicator of the mood in the Palestinian street."
The April 22 elections were a focus of interest over the weekend in the Palestinian political arena, with some observers terming Hamas’s triumph as a "political earthquake" and a major change in the mood in the West Bank, according to the newspaper.
The Hamas-affiliated Islamic Wafaa’ Bloc won 26 out of the council's 51 seats, compared to 19 seats for Fatah's student party, five for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and one seat for a coalition of other parties.
Following the Islamic bloc's victory in Birzeit University, PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas decided to stop student elections in the rest of the West Bank universities for fear of similar results.
The vigil was organized by the Islamic bloc in Gaza’s universities following PA security forces’ arrest of the representative of the Islamic bloc in the Preparatory Committee for the election of Birzeit University Jihad Salim.
On his part, spokesman for Hamas Movement Sami Abu Zuhri stated that his group is obliged to make “stark choices” in light of the state of manipulation and disregard in dealing with Gaza’s crises.
Abu Zuhri strongly denounced PA continued political arrests against the Islamic bloc students in West Bank especially after the bloc has won the majority of seats in Birzeit student council elections.
He said that the Islamic bloc’s victory in students elections was a clear message that resistance project could never be vanished. Hamas is stronger than many expect, said Abu Zuhri.
He pointed out that the continued political arrests of students at Birzeit University prove that Fatah movement does not believe in democracy and elections.
Abu Zuhri called on the unity government to bear its responsibilities towards the students’ political arrests.
In his turn, the Islamic bloc official in Gaza Strip Hani Maqbel expressed his total rejection of the “criminal acts” against students at Birzeit University.
Commenting on the issue, Haaretz Hebrew newspaper wrote Sunday that "Hamas has scored a convincing victory in the elections for the student council of Birzeit University, which is considered the most liberal of all West Bank Palestinian universities and a reliable indicator of the mood in the Palestinian street."
The April 22 elections were a focus of interest over the weekend in the Palestinian political arena, with some observers terming Hamas’s triumph as a "political earthquake" and a major change in the mood in the West Bank, according to the newspaper.
The Hamas-affiliated Islamic Wafaa’ Bloc won 26 out of the council's 51 seats, compared to 19 seats for Fatah's student party, five for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and one seat for a coalition of other parties.
Following the Islamic bloc's victory in Birzeit University, PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas decided to stop student elections in the rest of the West Bank universities for fear of similar results.
25 apr 2015
A 15-year-old Palestinian was injured and his brother arrested when the two were assaulted by Palestinian police in Nahalin in southwestern Bethlehem late Friday, his family said.The parents of Abd al-Hamid Ahmad Mahmoud Najajreh told Ma'an that their son had been badly hurt in his head, arm and foot by PA police officers who hit him with the butts of their rifles and sticks while breaking up a fight that the boy's family say he had not taken part in.
"Rocks were thrown at PA forces, but not by my sons," their father told Ma'an, adding that the police arrested Abd al-Hamid's older brother, Mahmoud, 18, for throwing rocks at PA forces even though he had not been in the town at the time of the fight.He said Mahmoud had been with him in Bethlehem at the time of the fight, but was arrested as soon as they arrived home.
Speaking of Abd al-Hamid, the father said: "My son was assaulted by PA forces and thrown in the street; locals gave him first aid and took him to the town's clinic, which transferred him to the al-Yamama Hospital where he currently is."
PA police told Ma'an that an investigation had been opened into the incident, but confirmed that police and security forces had entered Nahalin to intervene in a fight among residents.
They added that Palestinian security forces were assaulted with rocks as they broke up the fight, and a number of those who had thrown rocks were arrested by PA forces.Abd al-Hamid is currently in stable condition.The Palestinian Authority has come under fire before for human rights abuses against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights released a report in 2014 detailing such abuses, including arrest and questioning of journalists for work deemed critical of the PA, arbitrary detention, torture, and ill-treatment of detainees.
The report also pointed to a lack of effective and transparent investigations into unlawful killing or torture by PA security forces, and neglect to curtail gender-based violence and killing.
No further information was given regarding others detained on Friday.
"Rocks were thrown at PA forces, but not by my sons," their father told Ma'an, adding that the police arrested Abd al-Hamid's older brother, Mahmoud, 18, for throwing rocks at PA forces even though he had not been in the town at the time of the fight.He said Mahmoud had been with him in Bethlehem at the time of the fight, but was arrested as soon as they arrived home.
Speaking of Abd al-Hamid, the father said: "My son was assaulted by PA forces and thrown in the street; locals gave him first aid and took him to the town's clinic, which transferred him to the al-Yamama Hospital where he currently is."
PA police told Ma'an that an investigation had been opened into the incident, but confirmed that police and security forces had entered Nahalin to intervene in a fight among residents.
They added that Palestinian security forces were assaulted with rocks as they broke up the fight, and a number of those who had thrown rocks were arrested by PA forces.Abd al-Hamid is currently in stable condition.The Palestinian Authority has come under fire before for human rights abuses against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights released a report in 2014 detailing such abuses, including arrest and questioning of journalists for work deemed critical of the PA, arbitrary detention, torture, and ill-treatment of detainees.
The report also pointed to a lack of effective and transparent investigations into unlawful killing or torture by PA security forces, and neglect to curtail gender-based violence and killing.
No further information was given regarding others detained on Friday.
24 apr 2015
The Palestinian Authority (PA) security apparatuses in the West Bank captured a Palestinian citizen on charges of his political affiliations and have kept others in custody on similar grounds.
Sources based in Tulkarem city said the PA Preventive Security Forces arrested the Palestinian youngster Bahaa Omar Shahrour right after he was summoned for interrogation.
The 22-year-old Palestinian university student Hani Sharaf has, meanwhile, been held in custody by the PA Preventive Forces in Jenin for the fifth day running, which prevented him from pursuing his studies at An-Najah national university.
The PA Preventive Forces in Bethlehem have also kept the Palestinian student Ibrahim Salhab, enrolled at the Polytechnic University, in their interrogation centers for the fifth day in a row.
Sources based in Tulkarem city said the PA Preventive Security Forces arrested the Palestinian youngster Bahaa Omar Shahrour right after he was summoned for interrogation.
The 22-year-old Palestinian university student Hani Sharaf has, meanwhile, been held in custody by the PA Preventive Forces in Jenin for the fifth day running, which prevented him from pursuing his studies at An-Najah national university.
The PA Preventive Forces in Bethlehem have also kept the Palestinian student Ibrahim Salhab, enrolled at the Polytechnic University, in their interrogation centers for the fifth day in a row.
23 apr 2015
Palestinian Authority Security Forces (PASF) on Wednesday evening fired at a young man in Jenin refugee camp in an attempt to arrest him. He suffered minor injuries.
Eyewitnesses told Quds Press that members of PASF shot the ex-detainee in Israeli jails, Qais al-Sadi, with live bullets in his foot, but he managed to flee.
After the incident, he posted on his Facebook a letter to the PA forces threatening to hold them accountable.
The ex-detainee Saadi is the companion of martyr Hamza Abu al-Haija who was killed by Israeli forces in an armed clash months ago.
The PA forces arrested Saadi after Abu al-Haija was killed and released him later. These forces have been chasing him for a while and tried to arrest him several times.
Eyewitnesses told Quds Press that members of PASF shot the ex-detainee in Israeli jails, Qais al-Sadi, with live bullets in his foot, but he managed to flee.
After the incident, he posted on his Facebook a letter to the PA forces threatening to hold them accountable.
The ex-detainee Saadi is the companion of martyr Hamza Abu al-Haija who was killed by Israeli forces in an armed clash months ago.
The PA forces arrested Saadi after Abu al-Haija was killed and released him later. These forces have been chasing him for a while and tried to arrest him several times.
19 apr 2015
A Palestinian court on Sunday dismissed a high-profile corruption case against exiled Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan, a defense lawyer told AFP.
Sevag Torossian said the Ramallah-based corruption court had ruled that the charges against Dahlan -- once a leading figure in Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party -- were "inadmissable," in a move the lawyer hailed as a "great victory."
The court ruled that a 2012 decision to lift Dahlan's parliamentary immunity had not been carried out in line with parliamentary law, legal documents showed.
The lifting of immunity had paved the way for another case in May 2014 in which he was convicted in absentia of defamation and sentenced to two years in prison.
His immunity was lifted by presidential decree in 2012, but by law, it can only be removed after a parliamentary vote.
However, the Palestinian Legislative Council (parliament) has not convened since a 2007 political crisis when Hamas expelled its Fatah rival from the Gaza Strip.
Last month, the Palestinian high court had upheld the decree, rejecting an appeal by Dahlan.
The current case, which began in December, was in connection with the alleged misuse of $17 million in expenses, his legal team said, describing the trial as a "farce."
His legal team said it would try to have last year's conviction overturned on the same grounds. That ruling effectively barred Dahlan from returning to the West Bank for fear of imprisonment.
"This is a great victory for the defense but also for the political future of Palestine," Torossian said, hailing the "courage of the judges who have just demonstrated the independence of the judicial system from the executive".
Dahlan's lawyers have long accused the Palestinian leadership, with President Abbas at its head, of using the courts "for purely political ends."
Once a leading Fatah figure who headed Gaza's powerful security apparatus, Dahlan fell from grace in June 2007 after the humiliating rout of his forces by Hamas in deadly week-long street battles which saw the movement expel Fatah from the coastal enclave.
He returned to the political stage in 2009, but two years later was expelled from Fatah over allegations of financial corruption and murder.
Sevag Torossian said the Ramallah-based corruption court had ruled that the charges against Dahlan -- once a leading figure in Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party -- were "inadmissable," in a move the lawyer hailed as a "great victory."
The court ruled that a 2012 decision to lift Dahlan's parliamentary immunity had not been carried out in line with parliamentary law, legal documents showed.
The lifting of immunity had paved the way for another case in May 2014 in which he was convicted in absentia of defamation and sentenced to two years in prison.
His immunity was lifted by presidential decree in 2012, but by law, it can only be removed after a parliamentary vote.
However, the Palestinian Legislative Council (parliament) has not convened since a 2007 political crisis when Hamas expelled its Fatah rival from the Gaza Strip.
Last month, the Palestinian high court had upheld the decree, rejecting an appeal by Dahlan.
The current case, which began in December, was in connection with the alleged misuse of $17 million in expenses, his legal team said, describing the trial as a "farce."
His legal team said it would try to have last year's conviction overturned on the same grounds. That ruling effectively barred Dahlan from returning to the West Bank for fear of imprisonment.
"This is a great victory for the defense but also for the political future of Palestine," Torossian said, hailing the "courage of the judges who have just demonstrated the independence of the judicial system from the executive".
Dahlan's lawyers have long accused the Palestinian leadership, with President Abbas at its head, of using the courts "for purely political ends."
Once a leading Fatah figure who headed Gaza's powerful security apparatus, Dahlan fell from grace in June 2007 after the humiliating rout of his forces by Hamas in deadly week-long street battles which saw the movement expel Fatah from the coastal enclave.
He returned to the political stage in 2009, but two years later was expelled from Fatah over allegations of financial corruption and murder.
Hamas on Sunday slammed the Palestinian Authority apparatuses for stepping up arbitrary arrests against the group’s leaders and affiliates in the West Bank after two Hamas supporters were captured and another was summoned for interrogation.
Hamas said in a statement the PA forces in Bethlehem arrested the 24-year-old ex-prisoner Rashed al-Yamani from his workplace.
The PA preventive forces in al-Khalil further apprehended the ex-prisoner Ibrahim Salhab, enrolled at the Polytechnic University.
The university student Suhaib Houshiya, coordinator for the Islamic Bloc in al-Quds Open University in Ramallah, was also summoned for interrogation by the PA devices.
Meanwhile, the ex-prisoner Ramez Abu Salha has been held in the PA detention centers for 42 days running while Ayman Abu Eid has been held in custody for over a couple of months despite an earlier court issue approving his release.
Earlier, Hamas slammed the PA Chairman, Mahmoud Abbas, for “hoodwinking” the Palestinian public opining as regards latest pledges to stop security coordination with the Israeli occupation.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in press statements Abbas has reneged on his threats and promises to cease security coordination with the Israeli occupation authority and form a special committee to that very end.
He branded Abbas’s pledges “a big lie” made up to mislead the Palestinian people, atone for his ongoing failure to meet Palestinian demands, and cover up his dangerous role in liquidating the Palestinian cause and meddling with home affairs.
Barhoum called on the Palestinian people to stand on their guard to such crooked practices exploited by Abbas to conceal the crimes he has been committing against Palestinians.
He further urged Palestinians to rally round the Palestinian resistance in its struggle for national liberation against the Israeli occupation and to join forces so as to restore Palestinians’ legitimate rights.
Hamas said in a statement the PA forces in Bethlehem arrested the 24-year-old ex-prisoner Rashed al-Yamani from his workplace.
The PA preventive forces in al-Khalil further apprehended the ex-prisoner Ibrahim Salhab, enrolled at the Polytechnic University.
The university student Suhaib Houshiya, coordinator for the Islamic Bloc in al-Quds Open University in Ramallah, was also summoned for interrogation by the PA devices.
Meanwhile, the ex-prisoner Ramez Abu Salha has been held in the PA detention centers for 42 days running while Ayman Abu Eid has been held in custody for over a couple of months despite an earlier court issue approving his release.
Earlier, Hamas slammed the PA Chairman, Mahmoud Abbas, for “hoodwinking” the Palestinian public opining as regards latest pledges to stop security coordination with the Israeli occupation.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in press statements Abbas has reneged on his threats and promises to cease security coordination with the Israeli occupation authority and form a special committee to that very end.
He branded Abbas’s pledges “a big lie” made up to mislead the Palestinian people, atone for his ongoing failure to meet Palestinian demands, and cover up his dangerous role in liquidating the Palestinian cause and meddling with home affairs.
Barhoum called on the Palestinian people to stand on their guard to such crooked practices exploited by Abbas to conceal the crimes he has been committing against Palestinians.
He further urged Palestinians to rally round the Palestinian resistance in its struggle for national liberation against the Israeli occupation and to join forces so as to restore Palestinians’ legitimate rights.
18 apr 2015
Palestinian Authority police and security services arrested 12 wanted Palestinians Saturday in areas in southwestern Hebron, including some that have been wanted for the PA for years.
Director of the Hebron police department, Muhammad Taym, told Ma'an that the detentions come under security activity aiming to maintain public security and arrest all wanted individuals.
The arrests came one day after police arrested over 60 people in raids across the West Bank early Friday.
Luay Irziqat, PA police spokesperson, told Ma'an Friday that a joint force of national security officers, police, and judicial police detained 19 wanted criminals in the Bethlehem-area villages of Beit Fajjar and Um Salamona, while 20 men were detained in Beit Sahour.
In Ramallah, police detained 20 wanted criminals, including a major drug dealer.
Director of the Hebron police department, Muhammad Taym, told Ma'an that the detentions come under security activity aiming to maintain public security and arrest all wanted individuals.
The arrests came one day after police arrested over 60 people in raids across the West Bank early Friday.
Luay Irziqat, PA police spokesperson, told Ma'an Friday that a joint force of national security officers, police, and judicial police detained 19 wanted criminals in the Bethlehem-area villages of Beit Fajjar and Um Salamona, while 20 men were detained in Beit Sahour.
In Ramallah, police detained 20 wanted criminals, including a major drug dealer.
17 apr 2015
Palestinian Authority police arrested over 60 people in raids across the West Bank early Friday, a spokesperson said.
Luay Irziqat, PA police spokesperson, told Ma'an that a joint force of national security officers, police, and judicial police detained 19 wanted criminals in the Bethlehem-area villages of Beit Fajjar and Um Salamona, while 20 men were detained in Beit Sahour.
All arrests took place in Area C, under full Israeli security and administrative control. The suspects had been issued arrest warrants and were hiding from PA police.
In Ramallah, police detained 20 wanted criminals, including a major drug dealer.
Director of Ramallah and al-Bireh police forces said that they will continue to pursue fugitives and bring them to justice.
Luay Irziqat, PA police spokesperson, told Ma'an that a joint force of national security officers, police, and judicial police detained 19 wanted criminals in the Bethlehem-area villages of Beit Fajjar and Um Salamona, while 20 men were detained in Beit Sahour.
All arrests took place in Area C, under full Israeli security and administrative control. The suspects had been issued arrest warrants and were hiding from PA police.
In Ramallah, police detained 20 wanted criminals, including a major drug dealer.
Director of Ramallah and al-Bireh police forces said that they will continue to pursue fugitives and bring them to justice.
16 apr 2015
Four Hamas affiliates were apprehended by the Palestinian Authority (PA) apparatuses overnight Wednesday and at dawn Thursday in a mass-arbitrary abduction campaign launched across the West Bank.
Hamas slammed, in a statement issued on early Thursday morning, the PA General Intelligence in the northern West Bank city of Tubas for capturing the ex-detainee Ashraf Daraghma from his workplace late Wednesday evening.
Sources based in al-Khalil said the PA forces further apprehended Ahmad Mohamed al-Haroub and his brother Dheib along with the youngster Ali Mahmoud al-Haroub after having stormed Deir Samit town in a flock of 30 military jeeps.
The PA forces reportedly assaulted a number of Palestinian homes and confiscated a set of laptops and mobile phones in the process.
In Tulkarem city, the captive Ahmad Mohamed Hamdan has gone on an open-ended hunger strike in protest at being arbitrarily apprehended by the PA intelligence services on Wednesday.
Hamas slammed, in a statement issued on early Thursday morning, the PA General Intelligence in the northern West Bank city of Tubas for capturing the ex-detainee Ashraf Daraghma from his workplace late Wednesday evening.
Sources based in al-Khalil said the PA forces further apprehended Ahmad Mohamed al-Haroub and his brother Dheib along with the youngster Ali Mahmoud al-Haroub after having stormed Deir Samit town in a flock of 30 military jeeps.
The PA forces reportedly assaulted a number of Palestinian homes and confiscated a set of laptops and mobile phones in the process.
In Tulkarem city, the captive Ahmad Mohamed Hamdan has gone on an open-ended hunger strike in protest at being arbitrarily apprehended by the PA intelligence services on Wednesday.
