Ramallah, January 22 (RHC)-- Israeli forces have arrested at least 22 Palestinians during separate overnight raids on a number of houses across the occupied West Bank. Palestinian sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Israeli military jeeps rolled into Balata and Askar refugee camps on the outskirts of Nablus, located approximately 49 kilometers north of Jerusalem, late on Tuesday.
The Israeli soldiers broke into dozens of homes and violently searched them, causing excessive property damage, before detaining 15 young Palestinians.
Separately, Israeli forces stormed the towns of Beit Ummar and Dura as well as the al-Fawwar refugee camp in the city of Hebron, located 30 kilometers south of al-Quds overnight, and abducted seven Palestinian men. Alaa al-Titi, a reporter for the Hamas-affiliated al-Aqsa satellite TV channel, was among the seven arrested Palestinians.
During recent months, Israeli forces have frequently raided Palestinians' homes in the West Bank, arresting dozens of Palestinian people, who are then transferred to Israeli detention centers where they are kept without any charges brought up against them.
There have been many reports about the deteriorating health of several Palestinian prisoners held inside Israeli jails.
The Palestinian Authority Department of Prisoners Affairs said in a statement earlier this month that Palestinian prisoners kept inside Israeli detention facilities are suffering from serious health problems, yet they are denied proper medical treatment.
There are reportedly over 7,000 Palestinians in 17 Israeli prisons and detention camps. Among Palestinian prisoners behind Israeli bars, there are 18 women, 250 children, 1,500 sick detainees, who are mostly in a critical condition, and 540 Palestinians held without any trial under administrative detention.
Administrative detention is a sort of imprisonment without trial or charge that allows Israel to incarcerate Palestinians for up to six months. The detention order can be renewed for indefinite periods of time.
