IOF rounded up 700 Palestinians in Al-Khalil this year

[ 06/10/2010 - 09:10 AM ]

AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) detained 700 Palestinians in Al-Khalil district since the start of 2010 until end of September, a report by the Palestinian prisoner's association said. The report said that the IOF soldiers launched a series of search and break, into homes of Palestinian citizens, operations in various villages and refugee camps in the district in addition to the city itself arresting 70 citizens. It noted that five of the detainees, arrested last month, were suffering from chronic diseases while 11 minors were also taken and subjected to beating and quelling. It noted that the youngest of them was a 12-year-old boy who was ordered by court to remain away from his family home for five months. Amjad Al-Najjar, the head of the association in Al-Khalil, said that the IOF detention policy targeting Al-Khalil was an attempt to endorse occupation of the city in its capacity as the second holiest city in Palestine due to the presence of the Ibrahimi mosque in it. He appealed to human rights groups to immediately intervene to halt the arrest campaigns of children, elderly and sick people.