Israeli Forces Abduct Four International Human Rights Activists

Four international Human Rights Activists from the USA, Sweden and Germany are currently being held.

Israeli forces have launched a large-scale military invasion of the village following a series of demonstrations by the village against the Israel’s annexation wall.
We went to the school just after the Israeli forces had left. Around 90 residents had been taken there, mostly young men. A few were released, but most have been taken somewhere else, no one knows where.
Thomas Patterson - International Solidarity Movement

The school was severely damaged. The front gate had been smashed open and all the doors taken off their hinges. There were mass interrogations there. Israel is clearly attempting to crush through force any form of popular resistance to the illegal Apartheid Wall.
Ulrika Lundquist – International Solidarity Movement

Israeli forces invaded the village in the early hours of this morning (18th February), conducting house-to house raids and arresting dozens of residents, including the son of the mayor of Jayyous.

At least 70 residents of Jayyous have now been abducted by Israeli forces from the village after being rounded up in one of the village schools. The village has been blockaded by Israeli forces, with the two main entrances blocked with earth mounds.
Israeli soldiers have occupied many houses within the village, ransacking many and causing large amounts of damage. Many residents have been beaten by Israeli soldiers, including an elderly female who attempted to prevent the soldiers from entering her home. Israeli flags were flown from peoples’ homes, adding insult to the situation.

This large-scale military action appears to be an act of collective punishment for the series of demonstrations that have been staged by the village against the further confiscation and destruction of village land caused by the re-routing of the annexation wall. 277 dunums of land will be razed for the new path of the Wall, with a further 5,585 dumums to be permanently confiscated when the Wall is completed.According to Stop The Wall, the settlement of Zufim is planned to expand onto much of the confiscated land.

The construction of infrastructure for the new part of the Israeli settlement known as “North Zufim” has already begun, with the construction of an electricity network that will allow for the creation of housing units.
The settlement of Zufim is being built by the company Leader which is owned by Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev, who has been the object of an international boycott for his settlement construction.

Thanks to: www.palsolidarity.org