Israel Arrests The Entire Awarta Village

Via South Lebanon

By Jameil Dababa, Palestine News Network

Over the past 33 days of constant Israeli military operations targeting the northern West Bank village of Awarta, near Nablus, it is now correct to say that the Israeli secret service and troops have arrested all the villagers, interrogating them and taking their DNA samples and fingerprints.

The continued nightly raids in Awarta are a clear indication that the Israeli security agencies have failed to accomplish a breakthrough in investigating the killing of a settler family in the settlement of Itamar, which lies directly above Awarta.

As the governor of Nablus, Jebreen al-Bakiri, said, the Palestinian Authoirty asked Israel if it could be a part of the investigation to find those who killed the settler family, this was denied by the Israeli army. He says: "Our demand is proof that we are also looking for the attackers. No one accepts the killing of children, everyone condemns it."

Both the Israeli army and settlers continue to insist that it was the villagers of Awarta who killed the settler family. The villagers say that they have nothing to do with the act, adding that Israel is trying to bring down the case on them because they are easy targets to blame.

Isolation

This is how the villagers of Awarta describe their situation for the past 33 days: "The village is quiet," says Kayes Awad, head of the village council, "they have kept the curfew after 33 days. Sometimes the troops leave, but we're still under constant threat."

The Army's Real Intention

Awad continued: “They want our land. And they want to open a road around our village, and their military operation is just finding reasons to do that.

“During the operation, they destroyed and ransacked all the homes of the village. They kept families confined in one room for hours as they did this. Our homes are unbearably ransacked now."

The Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture says that Awarta lies on 4,000 acres of land; of that, 2,400 acres are used for farming and the rest are used to graze cattle.

The governor of Nablus wondered why the Israeli army uses double standards all the time. “Escalated violence by the settlers is what the investigators should be focusing on. Israeli state should start prosecuting the criminal settlers, since their attacks have left 10 dead in this region since the beginning of this year.”

Regardless of Israeli claims that it was a Palestinian who killed the family in Itamar, neither the Israeli security forces nor the settlers have provided any evidence to prove that claim.

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