395 Palestinians Kidnapped by Israeli Occupation Forces in the West Bank One Month After Gaza Truce

IOF kidnapped hundreds of Palestinians in W. Bank since Gaza truce started

[ 21/07/2008 - 08:25 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

The ministry of prisoners and ex-prisoners' affairs in the PA caretaker government under premier Ismail Haniya has confirmed on Sunday that the IOA arrested 395 Palestinian citizens across the West Bank since the calm agreement in Gaza commenced a month ago.

"The Israeli occupation government's policy of arresting more Palestinian citizens was meant to impose more pressure on the Palestinian people, to break their will, and to force them bow to the occupation's dictates, in addition to emptying the Palestinian street of national and Islamic action leaderships", asserted Riyadh Al-Ashqar of the ministry's information department in a statement he issued Sunday.

He also explained that the city of Nablus was the most affected city in this regard with more that 100 of its inhabitants, including Dr. Abdul Rahim Al-Hanbali, 66, the former head of the city's Zakat committee, and city councilor Husam Al-Dein Kataloni.

Wheel-chaired Palestinian citizen Othman Jamal Al-Khalili, 27, was also arrested by the IOF troops in the frenzied arrest campaign in the city.

In addition, Ashqar confirmed that among the arrestees were 43 Palestinian minors and three women. One of the women, he pointed out, was released but the two others identified as Haneen Darwaza, a social activist, and Khulood Al-Masri, the vice-mayor of Nablus city, remained in detention despite their bad health condition.

Arbitrary imprisonment terms: Moreover, the ministry accused the Israeli occupation of issuing unjust and arbitrary imprisonment terms, including multiple life-sentences and solitary confinement among other terms against detained Palestinian citizens.

Furthermore, Palestinian captives in Israeli jails weren’t spared the Israeli barbaric practices as Israeli occupation soldiers assaulted Palestinian prisoners in the infamous Mageddo prison, wounding at least 13 of them and sending five others to isolation cells.

Palestinian captives, according to the ministry's report, weren’t given the needed medical attention from the Israeli prison authority (IPA), thus adding their ordeal.

Last week, the IPA allowed kidnapped PLC speaker Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Duwaik, to undergo surgical operation to remove a stone in his kidney after several appeals made by his lawyers to the IPA.

A number of Palestinian charitable institutions and organizations, including the Nafha foundation among other societies catering for the prisoners' affairs and meeting the needs of the captives' families were also sealed off by the IOA for unknown reasons, the report confirmed.

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