Israeli forces seize four Palestinians

Published Sunday 09/08/2009 (updated) 10/08/2009 15:52

Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - Israel's military seized four "wanted" Palestinians overnight, according to Sunday morning news reports.

The Hebrew-language Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that the Palestinians were seized in Ramallah, Hebron and Qalqiliya areas. They were taken for questioning, the paper said.

Ramallah and Qalqiliya were among four West Bank cities that Israel vowed to hand over in full to Palestinian Authority security forces in June. While Israeli soldiers since then have repeatedly entered the supposedly off-limits areas, including Jericho and Bethlehem, the raids have not always been inside the cities themselves.

Israeli forces rarely ever charge Palestinians detained in these nightly raids, although on Friday a military court sentenced 33-year-old Khaled Hamad, from the West Bank city of Nablus, to three life terms in prison.

The court had charged Hamad with facilitating the travel of a suicide bomber in 2002 to a junction near the illegal settlement of Ariel. Three settlers were killed and 15 others were injured in the attack. Hamad has been held in captivity since 2002, either during his trial or in administrative detention.

Earlier that morning, local sources reported Israeli troops entering the village of Beit Furik, southwest of Nablus, seized 16-year-old Tamer Kamal Hanini after raiding his home and harassing his family, according to witnesses. He was taken to an undisclosed location, but no charges were announced.

The raid occurred around 3am, when at least a half dozen military vehicles overran the western end of the village, according to locals there. Israel Radio reported that troops in the area detained three men, apparently including the boy, and took them "for investigation." The other two could not be immediately identified.