Ref: 104/2013
Date: 28 October 2013
Time: 12:00 GMT

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns the Israeli forces’ detention of 2 Members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) from the Change and Reform Bloc of Hamas: Nizar Abdul Aziz Abdul Hamid Ramadan (53); and Mohammed Maher Yusef Bader (55), both from Hebron, in addition to 20 other Palestinians, including active university students and a number of persons affiliated to Hamas, in different areas in the West Bank. PCHR emphasizes this arrest campaign constitutes a form of collective punishment against the Palestinian civilians, which is prohibited under article 33 of the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention.

According to investigations conducted by PCHR, on Monday morning, 28 October 2013, Israeli forces moved into different areas in the West Bank, including Hebron, Nablus, Tulkarm and Tubas, and arrested 20 Palestinian civilians.

In Hebron, Israeli forces arrested Ramadan (53), Bader (55), and Dr. ‘Adnan Yunis Abdul Majid Abu Tabbanah (43), Mos’ab Nidal Mohammed al-Zgheer (21) and Mos’ab Khamis Abdul Khaleq Qafisha (19).

In Nablus, they arrested 10 civilians:

1. Amjad Bushkar (24), a student at the Faculty of Education and representative of the Islamic Bloc at an-Najah National University;
2. Amir Mohammed Ishtaiya (24), a student at the Faculty of Arts and member of the Students’ Union at an-Najah National University;
3. Abdul Rahman Nasouh Ishtaiya (29), a student at the Faculty of Engineering at an-Najah National University;
4. Mo’athe Abu Baker (22), a student at the Faculty of Science at an-Najah National University;
5. Abdul Rahman al-Bashtawi (23), a student at the Faculty of Economics at an-Najah National University;
6. Kamal Hussam Qatalouni (25), a student at the Faculty of Shari’a at an-Najah National University;
7. Amir al-Tambour (28);
8. Mas’oud al-Kouni (26);
9. ‘Awni al-Shakhshir (23); and
10. Samir Saleh Abu Shu’aib (23).

In Tulkarm, Israeli forces arrested Anas Manna’ Ibrahim Ghanem (22), from Tulkarm, and Mahmoud Dawood Raddad (23), from Saida village, northeast of the city. They also arrested Basem Rashid Mostafa Hamdan (35) and Abdullah Bani Ouda (23), a student at the Faculty of Information Technology at al-Najah National University, from Tamoun village, southeast of Tubas.

At approximately 10:30, Israeli military undercover units sneaked into Deir Sharaf village, northwest of Nablus, by a Volkswagen minibus with a Palestinian registration plate. The vehicle stopped in front of al-Amani butchery at Nablus-Tulkarm-Jenin intersection. Israeli soldiers stepped out of the vehicle and pointed their guns at 3 young men in their twenties. The young men were sitting in the abovementioned butchery having breakfast when Israeli undercover members kidnapped them and took them to an unknown destination. PCHRs fieldworker has not been able to identify them so far. In the meantime, Israeli forces confiscated cameras established in the butchery, Mousa supermarket and Wad al-Sha’ir butchery.

PCHR condemns this arrest campaign and:

1. Stresses that it is part of reprisals and collective punishment exercised against Palestinian civilians, which is prohibited under the Fourth Geneva Convention;
2. Calls for the immediate release of the PLC members and all Palestinian ministers detained in Israeli jails.