West Bankupdated 50m ago2 min read
Israeli Forces Raid Palestinian NGO Offices in Ramallah, Confiscate Legal Files
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Israeli forces raided Addameer and Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees offices in Ramallah. They stormed the courtyard of Ramallah’s Palestine Medical Complex during the raids.
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Ramallah NGO raids
Israeli forces raided the offices of several Palestinian NGOs in the occupied West Bank and confiscated legal files, court records, and valuable equipment in Ramallah on Tuesday. Israeli forces also deployed snipers around the entrances to Ramallah’s Palestine Medical Complex, the largest government medical facility in the occupied West Bank, according to Democracy Now!
Palestinian officials said a child was injured from Israeli gunfire, while others suffered from tear gas inhalation, and at least one journalist was reportedly detained in the raids. Al Jazeera reported that Israeli forces searched the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees and the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association in the city of Ramallah on Tuesday, and it said Israeli snipers were deployed around the entrances to the Palestine Medical Complex.
Sahar Francis on intent
Human rights lawyer Sahar Francis said the raids were part of a “propaganda show” implemented “just before the Israeli election,” and she said the message was “the persecution and the collective punishment for the whole Palestinian community.” Francis said the offices were raided despite the fact that Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association had already been forced to close its West Bank offices in 2022, and she said Israel classified the organizations as “terrorist” organizations.
Francis told Democracy Now! that the offices they raided “actually were raided in 2020,” and she said Israeli forces confiscated property and stole files and equipments at that time. Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim said, “Israeli forces have been raiding one of the compounds that belongs to Addameer,” and she added that the NGO “has been deemed by the Israeli army and establishment as a terrorist organisation.”
Snipers, injuries, and access
Press reports said Israeli forces wounded a Palestinian child with live ammunition and injured at least two journalists with stun grenades and tear gas during raids on two Palestinian NGOs in Ramallah, while deploying snipers around the entrances to the Palestine Medical Complex. The Palestinian Health Ministry said the child was wounded by Israeli live fire during raids in Ramallah and Al-Bireh, and Wafa identified Palestine TV journalist Khaled Mattawa and Sky News Arabia journalist Firas Lotfi as injured, according to PressTV.
Al Jazeera said the raid was “a daylight raid that is happening in the centre of Ramallah, causing a lot of panic,” and it said Palestinians worried because they knew Israeli forces could open fire. The New Arab reported that Israeli forces stormed the courtyard of the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah and raided the offices of several Palestinian human rights organisations, seizing equipment and files, and it said Israeli forces deployed snipers at the entrances and blocked people from entering and leaving the facility.