Israeli army arrests Palestinian child in occupied West Bank

RAMALLAH, Palestine

The Israeli army arrested late Friday a Palestinian child during a raid on the town of Sinjil north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank while tightening its military measures in the center of Hebron.

“The occupation army arrested the child, Karam Majid Ghafri, 13, during its storming of the town of Sinjil, north of the city of Ramallah, on Friday evening,” an eyewitness told Anadolu.

“The occupation army raided the town and fired gas and sound bombs that frightened the child, who fled toward a store, then the soldiers followed him and arrested him,” the eyewitness added.

He said “the child's father insisted on accompanying him until he arrived at a detention center northeast of Jerusalem, where he was interrogated late Friday evening on charges of throwing stones at soldiers.”

“Ghafri‘s detention was extended for eight days,” he added.

According to prisoner affairs groups, at least 200 children have been detained by Israeli forces out of 9,000 Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons as of February.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army tightened its military measures in the Old City of Hebron, in the southern occupied West Bank.

“The occupation soldiers intensified their deployment on Friday evening and today, Saturday, among Palestinian neighborhoods and homes in the Old City,” Arif Jaber, an activist in the Human Rights Defenders Association, told Anadolu.

“About 800 families are still subject to a curfew since Oct. 7 which was recently eased by allowing residents to move for one hour in the morning and another in the evening only, with the exception of Fridays and Saturdays,” he added.

Tensions have been running high across the occupied territory since Israel launched a deadly military offensive against the Gaza Strip following an Oct. 7 Hamas attack which killed some 1,200 people.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice over its deadly onslaught on the Gaza Strip, which has left more than 29,600 people dead.

In an interim ruling in January, the Hague-based court ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi