The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) says Israeli soldiers arrested 11 Palestinian teenagers after the troops raided their houses in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
Seven teenagers were detained in al-Khalil (Hebron) and the other four were arrested in al-Quds during the early hours of Wednesday.
All of the Palestinians are between 14 and 17 years of age.
Meanwhile, heavy clashes have reportedly erupted in al-Khalil as Israeli forces fired tear gas and sound bomb at civilians. The clashes sparked after the forces raided Palestinians’ houses in the city.
The Palestinian Prisoners Club (PPC) reported that Israel arrested 350 Palestinians from several cities and towns across the West Bank in January alone, with the highest number of arrests documented in al-Khalil, amounting to 120, followed by East al-Quds, where 20 Palestinians were detained.
The al-Khalil arrests included 25 minors and eight students, in addition to 16 residents suffering from various health problems and two females aged 22 and 26. Around 37 residents were placed under the so-called administrative detention, under which Israeli prison authorities are allowed to incarcerate inmates for up to six months, and the term can be also extended.
More than 6,500 Palestinian prisoners are currently held in Israeli jails, dozens of whom are serving multiple life sentences. About 1,500 prisoners are believed to have health problems due to medical negligence by Israeli authorities.
