IOF Imposes Lock-Down on Al-Khalil, Thousands of Palestinians Permits Denied

Monday, 4 July 2016

IOF Imposes Lock-Down on Al-Khalil, Thousands of Palestinians Permits Denied

Israeli occupation forces went on with their blockade on the southern occupied West Bank district of al-Khalil (Hebron) amid tightened measures.

Occupation forces sealed the entire district, while imposing a complete lock-down on the village of Bani Naim and revoking permits of some 2,700 of its residents, Maan News agency quoted Israeli and Palestinian sources as saying. Israeli blockade in al-Khalil

The closure was implemented on Friday amid a massive manhunt for the suspect responsible for a shooting attack that left an Israeli man dead, his wife critically injured, and his two children lightly-to-moderately injured while driving in their car near the Otniel settlement south of Hebron where the family was from.

Israeli forces closed the entrances of the villages of Beit Anun, Sair, al-Thahiriyah, al-Fawwar, the Al-Fawwar refugee camp, al-Samu, Dura, and Farsh al-Hawa, while blocking the entrance of the village of Nabi Yunis with large cement blocks, Maan quoted locals as saying.

Israeli checkpoints were also erected at the entrances of Sair, al-Hawawir, and the al-Arrub refugee camp as occupation forces searched all cars crossing the checkpoints. Locals said the main entrance to Beit Ummar was closed with an iron gate.

Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces have imposed a complete lock-down on the village of Bani Naim in al-Khalil the hometown of 17-year-old Muhammad Tarayra who was martyred on Thursday after stabbing an Israeli settler to death in the nearby illegal Kiryat Arba settlement — a major illegal Israeli settlement built on privately-held Palestinian land used as a central connecting point for the expansion of illegal settlements into the city of al-Khalil.

According to locals, all entrances to the village have been closed, as occupation authorities reportedly revoked Israeli-issued permits of some 2,700 residents in the village.

A young Palestinian woman, identified as 27-year-old Sarah Tarayra, also from Bani Naim, was martyred on Friday by occupation forces after allegedly carrying out a stab attack that left two Israelis wounded.