Israeli forces detain 9 Palestinians in West Bank

Israeli forces detained nine Palestinians overnight in separate raids across the occupied West Bank, witnesses and a military official said Wednesday. Soldiers stormed the village of Azzun east of Qalqiliya in the northern West Bank and detained five teenagers, locals said. They were identified as Mahmoud Sweidan, Sakhr Muath Salim, Mustafa Salim, Muhammad Abu Haniyeh, and Thaer Badwan. The Israeli army confirmed three arrests in Azzun, one in Salfit, and one northeast of Ramallah. Also Wednesday, Israeli forces also stormed the southern West Bank town of Beit Ummar near Hebron and detained three Palestinians, a local activist said. An army spokesman put the number at four. Muhammad Awad said Israeli forces raided the town from two directions. One from the south detained 30-year-old Alaa Fahmi Zaaqeeq after ransacking his home, according to Awad. At the same time, another force came through the main entrance and detained two young men. He identified them as 21-year-old Muhammad Wajih Abu Maria and 22-year-old Husam Sabir Abu Maria. The spokesman added that Israeli soldiers raided the home of Ahmad Abu Maria and handed him a summons demanding that his son Hammad, 20, go to an Israeli intelligence office. Hammad had served two years in Israel’s custody, Awad noted.