Israeli security forces conducted an undercover raid on a town in the West Bank and arrested a member of the Islamic Jihad which lead to demonstrations that resulted in the wounding of 30 Palestinians.
(ANHRI/IFEX) – 3 January 2012 – The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) strongly condemns the raid of Nafha prison in Negev, the torture of Palestinian prisoners and the forceful inspection of their prison cells by Israeli security forces affiliated with the Israeli prison department. The raid took place on 30 December 2012 and targeted sections 2 and 4 of the prison.
ANHRI also condemns the wounding of 30 Palestinians using rubber and live bullets at clashes that were sparked on 1 January 2013 after an undercover Israeli raid on the town of Tamon in the West Bank resulted in the arrest of an activist from the Islamic Jihad, Mourad Bani Awda. A hundred protesters were also harmed, many experienced breathing difficulties after tear gas bombs were thrown at them to disperse the crowds.
In a related context, security forces destroyed the house of a citizen from Jerusalem on the grounds of not having a permit. The man was not notified or warned before his house was taken down.
On 2 January 2013, confrontations between Israeli forces and the Palestinians continued in Tamon. One man sustained an eye injury.
In the West Bank and Barak Souliman, Israeli settlers assaulted unarmed Palestinian citizens and destroyed some landmarks in the town of Bet Amr, north of al-Khalil.
Security forces have also waged a massive arrest campaign across several towns including Fagar, Bet Amr, Saair, and Salwan. Nine Palestinian citizens have been arrested and several barriers to the entrances of certain towns have been recently erected.
“The Israeli forces insist on ignoring international laws as silence from the international community continues. Israel continues to mistreat its prisoners, which is in violation of international agreements. Its persistence at invading prisons and abusing prisoners will only worsen the situation in the Palestinian territories,” stated ANHRI.
The network added that “the use of rubber and live bullets by the Israeli forces to disperse the protests that broke out in the Palestinian territories is a serious violation of freedom of expression and basic human rights.”
ANHRI calls on Israel to abide by the international agreements in respect to the rights of prisoners: the Third Geneva Convention (1949), the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949), Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions (1977), Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions (1977) and Article 3 which is common across all four Geneva Conventions.
