Israeli occupation forces continue campaign against Nablus institutions

Date: 15 / 07 / 2008 Time: 11:22
Nablus – Ma'an –

Israeli occupation forces continued their campaign against alleged Hamas-affiliated institutions in Nablus in the northern West Bank on Tuesday, arresting two members of the municipal council and the former chair of the Alms Giving Committee as well as seven directors of civil society institutions.

Local Palestinian security sources said that Israeli occupation vehicles stormed the city at 1:30 am and ransacked several homes.

Deputy Mayor of Nablus, Hafidh Shaheen said that Israeli occupation forces kidnapped municipal council member Husam Qatalouni and his 25-year-old son, Mus'ab, as well as the administrative deputy mayor, Khulood Al-Masri, and her husband 'Ammar Al-Masri after ransacking their home.

Shaheen condemned the Israeli apprehension campaign. He told Ma'an that the Israeli campaign began in the southern West Bank and expanded to the north, namely to Nablus. He highlighted that six out of 15 members of the Nablus municipal council have already been arrested.

The municipal council of Nablus works under the umbrella of the Palestinian ministry of local government and it abides by the regulations of the Palestinian Authority, Shaheen added. He said that the 1,800 employees of the municipal council will continue to offer services to the residents of Nablus.

Local sources told Ma'an' that on Tuesday Israeli occupation forces arrested 66-year-old Dr Abdul-Rahim Al-Hanbali, former chair of the Nablus Alms Giving Committee after storming his home. They also arrested 40-year-old Muhyi As-Sal'us, financial manager of the Women's Union Hospital and Haneen Druza, a member of the Union's board of directors and her 19-year-old son 'Aamir Al-'Ammuri.

Meanwhile Palestinian security sources told Ma'an that Israeli occupation forces raided the village of Deir Sharaf west of Nablus and arrested six young people. The sources named the arrestees as Wahid Hamid, Abdullah Fuqaha, Ahmad Diab, Ibrahim Nofal, Kamil 'Abbadi and Muhammad Qatawi.

The crackdown on alleged Hamas-institutions in Nablus began on July 8 when the Israeli occupation army closed six associations, confiscating documents and equipment as part of an Israeli crackdown on Islamic charities in the West Bank. The campaign has continued with Israeli troops targeting institutions, such as media outlets, medical centres, governmental centres and schools in the city, claiming they are Hamas-affiliated and are "funding terrorist activities."

A shopping mall in the city centre, containing 50 shops and businesses has also been closed down a the Israeli occupation government claims head of the mall's administration, Adli Yayish, is affiliated with Hamas.

Fair Use Notice

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.