Ramallah, January 12 (RHC)-- At least 25 Palestinians, including a number of children, have been detained during a series of Israeli raids throughout the occupied territories. A Fatah spokesman said on Wednesday that Talal Dweikat, a former governor of the northern West Bank district of Tulkarm, was seized from his home in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus.
"The Israeli occupation targets every Palestinian regardless of political affiliation and the best response to that is to close ranks and maintain national unity," said Fatah spokesman Munir al-Jaghoub. The rest of the people were abducted during a series of raids launched by Israeli forces on the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarm, Balata refugee camp in Nablus and several Palestinian villages.
The Palestinian Prisoner's Society has reported that over 100 Palestinians, including 18 minors, were arrested by Israeli forces during the first five days of 2017. According to the Palestinian prisoners' rights group Addameer, there are currently 7,000 Palestinians, including seven lawmakers, held at Israeli jails. Three Palestinian Legislative Council members are in "administrative detention."
The so-called administrative detention is a sort of imprisonment without trial or charge that allows Israel to incarcerate Palestinians for periods of up to six months, which can be renewed an infinite number of times. Some prisoners have been held in administrative detention for up to 11 years.