Human rights defendersĀ denouncedĀ the raids as a militarized war against Palestinians with Israeli citizenship or Jerusalem residency permits.
On Sunday night, Israeli police launched a campaign of home raids to arrest Palestinians who had participated in protests in Jerusalem and other mixed cities in Israel.
“This is a war by Israeli police forces against Palestinian protesters, political activists, and minors,” denounced Hasan Yabareen, the director of the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel (ADALAH).
Police announced that they have arrested over 1,500 people in recent weeks, without specifying the nationality of the detainees. Israeli outlets, however, reported that most of them are of Palestinian origin, with Israeli citizenship or Jerusalem residency permits.
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So far, the Israeli State Prosecutor’s Office has formally filed indictments against some 230 Arabs and Jews for various crimes such as “assaulting police officers in aggravated circumstances”, “endangering human lives in a transport lane”, “participating in riots” or “throwing stones”. Among the defendants are minors.
A mass campaign of arrests is happening in 48/ Israel. Israeli occupation forces are arresting Palestinian citizens involved in the uprising. #palestinerises pic.twitter.com/lwt2nntWwJ
— Dr. Yara Hawari ŲÆ. ŁŲ§Ų±Ų§ ŁŁŲ§Ų±Ł (@yarahawari) May 23, 2021
Approved by Israeli Public Security Minister Amir Ohana, the current arrest campaign has deployed special forces in support of the police.
Yabareen denouncedĀ the raids as a militarized war against PalestiniansĀ living in Israel and demanded an urgent response from all Palestinian political groups and the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel.
Over the past month, Arabs with Israeli citizenship, who are part of a Palestinian descent group that remained within Israel after 1948, have been actively mobilizing against the military aggression against the Gaza resident population.
Featured image: Palestinian youth arrested by Israeli security agents, May 23, 2021. | Photo: Twitter/ @dohanews
