Arrest of Palestinian Students in Jayyus

Israeli forces entered the village of Jayyus (Qalqilya district) in the early hours of Wednesday morning and arrested three university students from their homes.

According to witnesses at least 10 military jeeps and 65 soldiers entered the village of Jayyus at 3am in the morning. Groups of soldiers surrounded a number of areas and broke into family homes without warning. After forcing families from their homes and into the street, soldiers held a number of young men from the village at gunpoint, checking IDs and took several for questioning.

Three young men were subsequently arrested and taken from the village. They are Hassan Othman, Mahde Asam Nofl and Abdulrahem Khaled. All of the men are 19 years old and are students at Al-Najah University. Two of those arrested were due to sit their final exams for the summer session today, and their arrest and detention may prevent them from completing their education next year.

Witnesses report that soldiers were verbally abusive to family members and prevented them from giving the young men clothes to wear before being taken away. No reason has been given for the arrest of the three young men and their current whereabouts is unknown.

As of 10.30am Wednesday, there are reports that Israeli military have re-entered the village of Jayyus and established a checkpoint.

Israeli authorities should immediately disclose the whereabouts of Hassan Othman, Mahde Asam Nofl and Abdulrahem Khaled and the reasons for their detention. Israeli authorities should immediately and unconditionally release the three young men unless credible evidence is presented that they have committed a crime.

Israel regularly arrests and detains Palestinian youth in overnight raids in the West Bank as part of its policies of repression against Palestinians in the territories it occupies. Thousands of Palestinian men, women and children are being held in Israeli prisons and detention centres, and the torture and abuse of detainees is common.