Prison break: Israeli forces carry out arrest campaign in West Bank raids
Israeli forces stormed several Palestinian towns in the Jenin governorate north of the occupied West Bank and installed checkpoints in the area on Wednesday morning.
Dozens of Israeli military vehicles entered Arraba, Kafrit, Nazlet Zaid, and a site near Silat al-Dhahr, and performed searches in the area, the Palestinian news agency Wafa said.
There were no reported arrests or casualties in Jenin but Israeli forces arrested several Palestinians in other towns in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem.
The Israeli army has been regularly carrying out night raids in Jenin since the daring escape of six Palestinian political prisoners from the notorious Gilboa prison in early September.
All of the six prisoners are from the area in and around Jenin. On Sunday, Israel captured the last two of the escapees - Ayham Nayef Kamanji and Munadil Yaqoub Nfeiat - who had been sheltered by a Jenin resident, a week after the four other prisoners were rearrested.
Rules tightened
On Wednesday, Israel also tightened the rules on Palestinians crossing al-Jalameh checkpoint to Jenin city, asking them to show their IDs, driving licences, and passports to enter and exit the area.
Al-Jalameh checkpoint was closed off following the Gilboa jailbreak on 6 September and the season of Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Palestinians were notified of the new rules to cross al-Jalameh by a large sign at the checkpoint, Raya radio reported.
Israel detained two people in Ramallah, during raids on their houses in al-Jalazon refugee camp and Jericho, and three in the Silwan neighbourhood, south of al-Aqsa compound. In al-Bireh town, it arrested 15-year-old Ziyad al-Shenni in a night raid on his home.
Israel has occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem since the 1967 Middle East war. It maintains a military system of checkpoints, a separation wall, an active land grab, and settlement expansion policies in the territories.
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