Israeli forces detain disabled man until his son surrenders

Israeli forces were looking for Ahmad Khuzaimiyah, who was not in the house, and arrested his brother and disabled father instead.
2 min read
West Bank
20 January, 2022
Israeli forces have ramped-up arrests of Palestinians in the Jenin area in recent weeks [Getty]

A disabled Palestinian man and his son were arrested by Israeli forces on Thursday in the West Bank town of Qabatyah south of , 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 around 3:00 am and headed for the house of the Khuzaimiyah family”, Shatha Hanayshah, a Palestinian journalist based in Qabatyah told .

“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 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.

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

Israeli forces have conducted several arrests in the Jenin area , 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  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.

Tensions are highest in the , 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  since September, following the escape of six Palestinians from the Israeli high-security prison at , two of whom were re-arrested in Jenin, where they took refuge.