Israel has abducted more than a dozen Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and in the Gaza strip as part of its increasing crackdown on the residents of the two enclaves.
Israel's military announced Monday that its forces arrested two brothers on charges of carrying out gun attacks on Israeli settlers and troops in the occupied city of al-Khalil (Hebron) over the past months.
A statement identified the brothers as Nazar Fizel Mohamed Badie, 23, and Akram Fizel Mohamed Badie, 33. It claimed that Nazar was involved in an attack on November 6 on Israeli settlers near the Ibrahimi Mosque in al-Khalil . It also alleged that Akram fired on a group of soldiers near the shrine on January 3, seriously wounding the Israeli forces in the area.
The two are also accused of firing on an army checkpoint in southern al-Khalil on January 3.
Officials in the Gaza strip also reported multiple arrests in the enclave in the course of the past 24 hours. Local media said at least 11 Palestinians were arrested by Israeli forces since Sunday with most of them being fishermen working on the Mediterranean waters close to Gaza’s coastline.
A list was released on the media containing the names of those detained by Israel. There was no immediate statement from the Tel Aviv regime on the arrests made in the besieged enclave.
The arrests came amid an intensifying crackdown by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank including east al-Quds (Jerusalem). Nearly 190 people have been killed in those areas since clashes between the Palestinians and Israel began in early October. The unrest, which has reportedly also claimed the lives of more than two dozen Israeli troops and settlers, came after Palestinians protested a covert plan by the regime in Tel Aviv to change the status quo of the Aqsa Mosque, a highly revered place for the Muslims across the world.