Palestinian researcher, specialist in detainees’ affairs, former detainee Abdul-Nasser Farawna, stated Monday that the Israeli forces kidnapped since the beginning of this year until the end of April more than 2350 Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
File - AP Photo, reprinted from weekly.ahram.org
He stated that some of the kidnapped residents were released later on while hundreds of them remained imprisoned in different detention and interrogation centers.
Farawna added that the army kidnapped 1220 Palestinians in January, including 1000 who were kidnapped during the latest offensive on Gaza, and that dozens of the kidnapped residents are still detained.
The army kidnapped 365 Palestinians in February, 395 in March and 370 in April. This includes 13 women and dozens of children in addition to hundreds of workers who were detained in Israeli for “not having the required work permits”.
The researcher also said that most of the residents were kidnapped in invasions, on roadblocks, in addition to several fishermen who were kidnapped while fishing in Gazan territorial waters.
He added that the army is kidnapping Palestinians as a means of pressure and an act of revenge and that the arrests are not necessarily related to the Israeli claims of “security measures”. He said that the arrests are acts of blackmail and abuse against the residents.
