Over the past two days, over 23 Palestinians have been seized by Israeli occupation forces, including a number of re-arrested former prisoners, student leaders and former Palestinian Authority minister of prisoners Wasfi Kabha. Kabha was seized by Israeli occupation forces who invaded his Jenin home in a pre-dawn raid on Monday, 12 June. The seizure came only 50 days after he was last released from Israeli occupation prisons after a year of imprisonment.
Kabha, 58, served as Minister of Prisoners in the national unity government that led the PA in 2006 following the election of Ismail Haniyeh as prime minister. He has spent over 12 years in prison over various periods of arrest including multiple periods held in administrative detention without charge or trial.
Video of his seizure by occupation forces:
Meanwhile, a special force from the occupation army arrested the representative of the Islamic Bloc on Birzeit University’s student council, Yasser Abu Armeleh, from the town of Beit Hanina, north of Jerusalem on Sunday, 11 June. There are reportedly approximately 60 Birzeit students imprisoned by the Israeli occupation, many for their involvement in student politics and activism.
Throughout the West Bank and Jerusalem, 13 more Palestinians were seized, including two teenagers from Nablus, Mohammed Amjad Oweis, 17, and Mustafa Mansour Oweis, 16. In Jerusalem, occupation forces seized five people: Majd Sa’ada, Wesam Awri, Adnan al-Rajabi, Khader al-Ajlouni and Yahya al-Ajlouni, while in al-Khalil, they seized Mohammed Yousef Baher, Mohammed Issa Baher, Amjad Azzam Abu Sneineh and an unnamed fourth persion. In the town of Rantis near Ramallah, Saeb Abu Salim and Suheib al-Sheikh were seized by occupation forces in late-night raids.
In the early morning hours of Tuesday, 13 June, Israeli occupation forces raided the homes of former prisoners Fadi al-Amouri, 41, and Adnan Khader al-Husri in Nour Shams refugee camp near Tulkarem, seizing them. In the town of Tarqumia near al-Khalil, Israeli occupation forces seized Nizam Qaqour after storming his house; youth in the village attempted to defend him and the occupation forces fired tear gas and sound bombs on them. At least four more Palestinians were seized by Israeli occupation forces, including Mohammed Shahwa in Jalazoun refugee camp, the village of Yatta and elsewhere. Manal Abu Ali from Yatta was seized near the Ibrahimi Mosque late Monday night and accused of possessing a knife. Muath Shyoukhi and Mansour Shyoukhi, both from Silwan in Jerusalem, were also seized in raids by Israeli occupation forces.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, 11 June, former prisoner and long-term hunger striker, Palestinian lawyer Muhammad Allan, was brought before an Israeli military court. Allan, 33, was seized by Israeli occupation forces on 8 June after they raided his home; he was held for years without charge or trial under administrative detention before winning his freedom in June 2015 after a 66-day hunger strike.
There are currently over 6,200 Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli occupation jails, including nearly 500 held without charge or trial under administrative detention. For Palestinians, violent overnight raids by Israeli occupation forces are a constant fact, with dozens of these raids taking place nightly, including violent night raids for the arrest of children.
