Israeli army detains Palestinian shepherds near Nablus
by Ghassan Bannoura, 26 April 2007
The Israeli army detained a group of Palestinian shepherds for several hours south of Nablus city in the northern part of the West Bank on Thursday.
Local sources reported that a group of Palestinian shepherds were herding their sheep on farm land that belongs to Qariot village south of Nablus. Soldiers came from the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Aeli and detained the shepherds for some time. Troops then took the shepherds to the settlement and held them there for four hours. The shepherds were released after a group of international solidarity and human rights workers intervened and managed to convince the soldiers to release the shepherds.
Israeli army kidnaps five civilians from Nablus
by Ghassan Bannoura 26 April 2007
The Israeli army kidnapped five civilians during a pre-dawn invasion of the northern West Bank city of Nablus and the nearby Balata refugee camp on Thursday.
A massive Israeli force stormed the city and the refugee camp, searched scores of houses and ransacked them. Before leaving the city troops abducted five men, among them were; Ala Kiali, Samih Al Hohe, and Mohamed Marahiel, 18, all were taken to unknown detention camps.
Local sources stated that resistance fighters from the city targeted the invading army force with home made bombs. The Israeli army reported no injures among its troops that invaded the city.
In the meantime Israeli army radio reported that Israeli troops invaded several West Bank cities and kidnapped at least 15 Palestinian civilians. The radio added that the kidnapping was concentrated in the cities of Nablus, Ramallah and Bethlehem.
The army claim was the usual, that the kidnapped are ‘Wanted Palestinians’, in the meantime Palestinian sources said that all who taken by the army are civilians. The deffinition of ‘Wanted Palestinian’ is not clear due to the Israeli authorities’ policies of collective punishment and obtainment of ‘intelligence’ through torture.