Israel arrests elderly Palestinian who became an icon of West Bank protests

Said Arma was detained early on Friday after Israeli forces raided his home in Deir Jarir village, northeast of Ramallah, The New Arab’s Arabic language service reported.

Last week, a video went viral on social media platform showing Arma wearing the traditional Palestinian Keffiyeh and robe with his white beard, throwing stones with a slingshot at Israeli forces.

Palestinians hold regular rallies across the West Bank to protest Israeli illegal settler activity, which continues to grow in the occupied territory, despite international condemnation.

Israel occupied the West Bank since 1967 and its settlements in the area are deemed illegal by the international community.

Despite that, Israeli settler population on Palestinian land has grown in recent years as Tel Aviv advances with plans to demolish Palestinian homes. 

Read also: Israel orders house demolitions in Jerusalem, prompting local Palestinians to 'build tents'

The Israeli authorities regularly tear down homes built by Palestinians on their own lands in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, allegeding they are built "without construction permits".

However according to a UN study, such permits are "virtually impossible" to obtain from Israel, resulting in a housing shortage for Palestinians.

There are currently some 450,000 Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank, living among an estimated 2.8 million Palestinians.

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