Israeli occupation forces arrest 18 Palestinian youngsters

Israeli occupation forces arrested at dawn today 18 Palestinian citizens from Bethlehem, Hawsan village and al-Dhaisheh and Ida camps in Bethlehem province. A local source told the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA) that the occupation forces stormed into Hawsan village west of Bethlehem and searched a number of Palestinian houses and tampered with domestic belongings therein and arrested nine youngsters. The source said that the arrests came after clashes erupted in the village last night during which an Israeli settler had been hit by a stone as her car was passing near the village as alleged by occupation authorities. Local sources said that Israeli occupation forces stormed into Palestinian homes in al-Dhaisheh camp in southern Bethlehem and arrested three youngsters. Also, Israeli occupation forces arrested five youngsters from Ida camp in northern Bethlehem and another citizen from Wadi Shahin area. Israeli occupation authorities carry daily house-to-house search operations on pretext of hunting for Palestinian activists.