Israeli army says 12 arrested overnight

Israeli troops arrested 12 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank overnight Wednesday, a military spokesman said. He said three each were seized in Deir Estiya and Qalandiya, two each from Beit Ummar and Yatma, and one each from Awarta and al-Arrub villages. Three of the detainees were identified by the mayor of Deir Estiya as Jihad Khaled, 26, Issam Mansour, 18, and Bahaa Mansour, 17. Nathmi Salman said they were taken to an undisclosed location following a raid around 2:30 a.m. in which soldiers broke into a number of homes and made the arrests. Israeli forces detained at least nine people in Qalqiliya village Azzun on Monday, a detainees group and Israeli officials said. The Qalqiliya detainees society said in a statement that four people were later released, and told the group they were badly beaten by the soldiers. Among the group detained were children and recently released prisoners, the society said, condemning the detentions as "unacceptable and against human rights." An Israeli army spokesman said forces detained nine people in Azzun. "We have them in for questioning together with the Shabak (Israel's internal security service)," he added. In late December, forces closed all entrances to the northern West Bank village and ransacked a number of homes. The village is encircled by settlements and the planned route of Israel's wall.