Israeli forces detain disabled man until his son surrenders

A disabled Palestinian man and his son were arrested by Israeli forces on Thursday in the West Bank town of Qabatyah south of Jenin, local sources said.

Abdel Qader Khuzaimiyah, a physically disabled man in his sixties and his son, Nabil Khuzaimiyah, who is in his twenties, were arrested before dawn.

“Israeli forces raided Qabatyah around 3:00 am and headed for the house of the Khuzaimiyah family”, Shatha Hanayshah, a Palestinian journalist based in Qabatyah told The New Arab.

Israeli "soldiers" on violent raid-&-arrest siege in Jenin & J'salem break into homes & kidnap dozens including a disabled Palestinian & his son https://t.co/2rFllJIppY

— Sarah Wilkinson (@swilkinsonbc) January 20, 2022

“They were looking for Abdel Qader’s second son, Ahmed Khuzaimiyah, who wasn’t in the house at the time”, Hanaysha said.

“Ahmed’s father and brother were arrested instead, despite the fact that his father is physically disabled and can’t walk”, she added.

According to Hanayshah, Ahmed Khuzaimiyah surrendered to Israeli forces at the Jalamah checkpoint later in the morning, upon which his father and brother were released.

من ذوي الاحتياجات الخاصة..#متابعة .. قوات الاحتــ.لال تعتقل المواطن المُقعد عبد القادر خزيمية ونجله نبيل، وذلك بعد مداهمة وتفتيش منزلهما وتخريب محتوياته في بلدة قباطية بجنين. pic.twitter.com/Qm8E6Zs2t4

— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) January 20, 2022

During the raid, Israeli forces clashed with armed Palestinians who opened fire at them, local sources reported.

Israeli forces have conducted several arrests in the Jenin area in recent weeks, following a rise in Palestinian armed activity in the area.

A week ago, Israeli undercover forces kidnapped a Palestinian from the centre of Qabatyah, according to local sources.

In late December, Palestinians opened fire on an Israeli settlers’ car between Jenin and Nablus, which was followed by a wave of Israeli raids in the area west of Jenin, leading to clashes with Palestinians.

فيديو| مصادر محلية: "إطلاق نار كثيف تجاه قوات الاحتــلال خلال اقتحامها بلدة قباطية بجنين". pic.twitter.com/nrtNpbeSqJ

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) January 20, 2022

Tensions are highest in the Jenin refugee camp, where Palestinian militants clashed with Israeli forces in early January, after the latter conducted a series of arrests in the camp.

The northern West Bank has witnessed a wave of Palestinian armed activity since September, following the escape of six Palestinians from the Israeli high-security prison at Gilboa, two of whom were re-arrested in Jenin, where they took refuge.