Former long-term hunger striker Ayman Al-Tabeesh among tens of arrested Palestinians

ayman-altabeeshFormer Palestinian prisoner and long-term hunger striker Ayman al-Tabeesh is among at least 25 Palestinian prisoners arrested in pre-dawn raids on Tuesday 2 August and late Monday evening throughout the West Bank. Al-Tabeesh, whose brother Mohammed is currently imprisoned without charge or trial under administrative detention, was released in October 2015 after thirty months in detention. During that time he conducted two lengthy hunger strikes of 105 and 123 days; both strikes ended with a promise not to renew his administrative detention, yet in both cases the agreements were broken by the Israeli occupation.

Al-Tabeesh, 35, from Dura near al-Khalil, has spent nearly 12 years in Israeli prison, mostly under administrative detention. His detention was renewed seven times during his last arrest.  Born in Libya in 1980, he returned to Palestine with his family in 1995. He could not complete his university education due to his repeated arrests.

Al-Tabeesh was arrested by Israeli occupation forces who stormed Dura in a pre-dawn invasion, raiding his home and that of Mohammed Ibeiyoush; the home of Mohammed al-Faqih, extrajudicially executed last week by Israeli occupation forces in an assassination raid on his home by bombarding his house with bulldozers and anti-tank missiles, was also ransacked by the soldiers. In the village of Surif, Ahmad Mohammed Hussein Abu Farah was seized by occupation soldiers after firing gunshots on his home; Marwan Mahmoud al-Hih was seized from his home in an armed raid by the occupation forces. In the village of Sair, occupation forces captured Musab Shalaldeh, 30. Mohammed Breweish and Mohammed Daghamin were also captured by Israeli forces in the Al-Khalil area, Ma’an News reported.

In the village of Farun, south of Tulkarem, occupation soldiers ransacked several homes and internet cafes, detaining Shadi Theimir, 27; Mohammed Salameh, 22; Anas Ahmad Obeid, 31; and his brother Hamza Ahmad Obeid, 25. Israeli occupation forces exploded the door on a home and attacked a house, allegedly on a mission to detain Anas and Hamza’s brother Malik, who was not at home. In Anabta, east of Tulkarem, occupation forces invaded the home of Mahmoud Mohammed Abu al-Asal, seizing him. In Ramallah, occupation forces captured Najib Mafarjah, Yousef al-Khatib, and Fathi Hammad; in Bethlehem, occupation forces detained Bader Abu Jalghif, Raed Ayish, and Abdelhalim Najajrah. More Palestinians were also detained by invading forces in Nablus, Beit Liqya, Hizma, and Deir Nidha. Four Palestinians were arrested from Jenin, including Mohammed Mallah, his brother Uday Mallah, Abdelhalim Yassin, and Motassem Yousef Dawahdeh.

These arrests followed upon dozens of arrests the night before in al-Khalil, Nablus, Jerusalem, Jenin and Bethlehem. In the Dheisheh refugee camp south of Bethlehem, invading occupation forces seized two local youth activists Mustafa Hasanat, 20, and Yazan Jeidi, 20, known for their involvement with leftist politics and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, including recent protests for the freedom of imprisoned hunger striker Bilal Kayed.


These mass arrests came alongside the issuance of 33 administrative detention orders for imprisonment of Palestinians without charge or trial on Monday, 1 August, as reported by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society:

1. Saber Naeem Thawabteh – Bethlehem – 3 months extension
2. Rami Yousef Melhem – Bethlehem – 6 months extension
3. Rami Kassem Aqra – Nablus – 4 months extension
4. Mohammed Yahya Imteir – Ramallah – 6 months extension
5. Ali Ishaq Jamal – al-Khalil – 3 months extension
6. Rami Mohammed Oweiwi – al-Khalil – 6 months extension
7. Majid Hassan Abu Shamla – Jenin – 6 months extension
8. Ahmed Mohammed Zourba – Nablus – 6 months extension
9. Ahmed Nabil Fani – Nablus – 3 months extension
10. Ahmed Najib Mafarjah – Ramallah -3 months extension
11. Maher Mohammed Shuraiteh – Ramallah – 3 months extension
12. Ruhi Ghassan Mourmush – Nablus – 6 months extension
13. Adib Shafiq Qawasmeh – al-Khalil – 4 months extension
14. Mohammed Hashem al-Faroukh – Ramallah – 4 months extension
15. Tariq Said Abu Thabet – Nablus – 4 months extension
16. Mahmoud Mohammed Mattan – Ramallah – 3 months, new order
17. Mohammed Monzer Aoura – Ramallah – 4 months, new order
18. Rashid Ibrahim Rashid, Bethlehem, 6 months extension
19. Yasser Mahmoud Quzmoz – Tulkarem – 4 months extension
20. Murad Awawdeh – al-Khalil – 6 months, new order
21. Haitham Hassan Bakhit – Tulkarem – 4 months extension
22. Khalil Mohammed Shueibak – al-Khalil – 4 month extension
23. Mohammed Eiaqabat – Jenin – 4 months, new order
24. Hazem Nabhan Srouji – Tulkarem – 4 months extension
25. Mohammed Hassan Wardan – Bethlehem – 6 months, new order
26. Murad Mohammed Abu Mahmoud – Bethlehem, 6 months, new order
27. Louay Imad Neiroukh – al-Khalil – 4 months, new order
28. Mahmoud Raiq Hussein – Tulkarem – 4 months extension
29. Moataz Mohammed Al-Muhtaseb – al-Khalil – 3 months extension
30. Abdelrahim Bassam Hammad – Ramallah – 4 months, new order
31. Ahmed Abdel Rahman Oweiwi – al-Khalil – 4 months extension
32. Abdelrahman Mustafa Hamid – Ramallah – 6 months, new order
33. Hussam Sharabati – al-Khalil – 4 months, new order