Palestinian Return Centre

Jerusalem, 8 February - Israeli occupation forces, sweeping in on dozens of jeeps, raided the densely populated Shuafat refugee camp north of occupied East Jerusalem. Israeli police spokesman Shmuel Ben Rubi said eleven Palestinian residents were arrested during the crackdown, allegedly aimed at "putting order". The Palestinians were arrested on the grounds of suspected tax evasion and unpaid bills to the municipality as well as involvement in violent behaviour and criminal activities. Palestinian sources report that at least 60 people were arrested. The Israeli occupation forces also raided hospitals and shops in the refugee camp confiscating hard discs from computers in the course of their house-to-house searches in the refugee camp housing some 25.000 Palestinians.

Elsewhere in the West Bank, in Ramallah, the occupation forces raided offices of the Stop the Wall movement, an internationally backed human rights movement campaigning to bring down the separation wall running through occupied Palestinian territories.

Jamal Jumaa, one of the coordinators of Stop the Wall, released a statement denouncing the confiscation of computer hard disks, laptops and video cameras as well as paper files, CD's and video-cassettes from the movement's office. Jumaa and another coordinator of Stop the Wall, Mohammed Othman, were arrested, but the latter was released shortly afterwards.

Stop the Wall movement released a statement saying it would not be intimidated and that its struggle would go on until the ruling of the International Court of Justice, which declared the building of the separation wall on occupied Palestinian territory as illegal, will have been implemented.

Arab Monitor