Israel detains Palestinians working against Covid-19 in Jerusalem (!)
JERUSALEM, May 5, 2020 (WAFA) — Israeli forces rounded up early this morning 13 Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem, including leading figures and activists, according to local sources.
Among the detained were Bilal Natsheh, who heads the National Popular Conference in Jerusalem, and his office manager, Muath Ashhab, Mustafa Abu Zahra, who is in charge of the city’s Muslim cemeteries in the Awqaf department, journalist Tamer Obeidat, writer Rania Hatem, activists Imad Awad and Jad al-Ghoul, among others.
Israeli security forces raided the homes of the Palestinian activists and detained them, said the sources.
Israeli police claimed it raided homes of and detained activists who were doing work in confronting the coronavirus outbreak in the occupied city on behalf of the Palestinian Authority and seized their computers and cellular phones, along with other materials found in their homes.
They will be brought before a court to today after interrogating them, said the police.
The Israeli forces detained as well six other Palestinian residents of Issawiyeh neighborhood of East Jerusalem after raiding and searching their homes.
The Palestinian Prisoner Society said Israel detained at least 600 Palestinians in East Jerusalem since the start of this year, including minors.
It said in addition to the leading figures detained this morning, Israel has detained on several occasions the Palestinian Authority’s Jerusalem Governor Adnan Ghaith and Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Fadi Hidmi and held them for several days before releasing them under strict conditions.
