RAMALLAH, Palestine / ISTANBUL
The Israeli army on Tuesday closed a Palestinian charity that provides care for orphans in the West Bank city of Hebron and confiscated office equipment and computers, a legal adviser said.
An Israeli force raided the administrative offices of the Islamic Charitable Society and detained staff members for several hours on the top floor of the three-story building, Abdel Karim Farah, the association’s legal adviser, told Anadolu.
He said the troops searched the offices, located in the Al-Hawouz area, before seizing office equipment and computers, releasing the staff, and sealing the building, without providing an explanation for the closure or how long it would remain in effect.
Founded in 1961, the organization provides care for orphans and operates schools for boys and girls as well as running Quran memorization centers in Hebron.
It is one of the most prominent nongovernmental organizations in the West Bank, supporting more than 6,000 orphans from about 2,000 families, according to information published on its website.
The Sharia Boys School, one of the society’s institutions, said on US social media company Facebook that the raid targeted the charity’s administrative headquarters next to the school, confirming that classes continued as usual.
Israeli attacks have escalated across the occupied West Bank since October 2023, killing more than 1,056 Palestinians, injuring 10,300, and detaining over 20,000 others, according to Palestinian figures.
In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.