Israeli troops act in complicity with armed settlers

Israeli Troops Arrest Residents as Settlers Blaze Crops

WEST BANK, Palestine, May15,2005 (IPC+ Agencies)—Israeli occupation troops arrested over the past 24 hours a number of Palestinian residents in separate attacks on Palestinain cities, towns, villages and refugee camps, as armed Jewish settlers blazed Palestinian-owned crops.

In the Balata refugee camp, east of the West Bank city of Nablus, the Israeli troops stormed early on Sunday morning the area and arrested two local residents.

Witnesses said that several Israeli armored vehicles invaded the Balata refugee camp and soldiers began breaking into locals’ houses, arresting Mahmoud Alnaqib and Wafi Al-Sader, and taking them to unknown destination.

In the meantime, the Israeli troops tightened on Saturday their grip over the old town of Hebron, and arrested a Palestinian resident from the Emreesh village, southwest of the city.

Local sources said that the Israeli soldiers arrested Mohammad Shahin, 30, after an Israeli contingent had broken into his house in the early hours of dawn, forcing those inside out.

Concurrently, local residents, living in the Khan Shahin neighborhood in the old town, counted on that the Israeli soldiers closed the only road , leading to the Alkhan area, preventing hundreds of inhabitants from reaching their destinations.

Also, the Israeli troops closed yesterday all roads close to the illegal Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arb’a, local Mohammad Sawda said.

Sawada told Palestine News Agency (WAFA) that more than five sand piles have been placed on roads leading to the region, forcing local inhabitants inside their houses.

Meanwhile, a mob of armed Jewish settlers blazed Saturday morning crops owned by local Palestinian farmers in the Rameen village, east of the West Bank city of Tulkarem.

Witnesses told WAFA that tens of armed settlers from the illegal Israeli settlement of Ennab, which is established on Palestinian-owned lands, set into flames all the crops in the area, allowing farmers no access to their burning lands, thus they were devastated completely.