RAMALLAH: Over 200 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank were arrested by military forces during Israel's 8 day military offensive against the Gaza Strip. Many were arrested during large demonstrations staged in solidarity with Gaza, several of which were marred by clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians. Several others were arrested in night raids conducted by occupation forces in villages and cities across the West Bank. After a tenuous Egyptian-brokered ceasefire was reached last Wednesday, over 50 Palestinians were arrested before dawn the next morning. Israeli military sources said the arrests were necessary to enforce the calm sought by the ceasefire agreement, alluding to fighting between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli soldiers in several cities, two instances of which resulted in the deaths of protesters. In Nabi Saleh, Rushdi Tamimi, a 28-year-old Palestinian man, was shot in the stomach by an Israeli soldier last Saturday. Within 48 hours he died of the gunshot wound. In Hebron, another 22-year-old Palestinian man, Hamdi Al-Fallah, was shot four times, once in the head, once in the knee, and twice in the chest, which resulted in his death. Among those arrested in the sweeping campaign were several legislators who belong to Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. On Friday, MPs at least 28 Palestinian members of Parliament were arrested, Ma'an News Agency said. Israeli military spokesmen claimed the arrests were necessary in light of a recent bomb attack on a Tel Aviv bus and the fragile nature of the ceasefire. Prisoners' rights organization Addameer condemned the military's unnecessary abuse and rough treatment of detainees in violation of international law. On November 15th, during a protest at the Bet El settlement near Ramallah, 8 female demonstrators were arrested after entering the military base and waving Palestinian flags and bearing signs denouncing the military offensive on Gaza. According to Addameer, Israeli soldiers shackled and blindfolded the women before subjecting them to intense physical and verbal abuse. In another instance, an American citizen was arrested at a checkpoint near Birzeit on November 17th. He is presently being held in an Israeli military prison without charge.
