Israeli forces arrested 72 Palestinians in Jerusalem while searching for Udai Tamimi: lawyer

Israeli forces arrested eight Palestinians in Jerusalem's Anata neighbourhood and Shuafat refugee camp based on claims that they were aiding Udai Tamimi, the Palestinian whom Israel has been trying to capture for the past ten days.

Israel accuses Tamimi of killing two Israeli soldiers and wounding another at an Israeli checkpoint outside of Shuafat camp on 8 October.

Israeli forces raided the Shuafat camp and the town of Anata, confronting local youth who threw stones and fireworks at them,  while they conducted the arrests.

The arrests and confrontations in Shuafat and Anata follow a string of raids by Israeli armed forces in Jerusalem's Palestinian neighbourhoods throughout last week, especially in Jabal Al-Mukaber, Issawiyah, Silwan and Sur Baher.

شاهد| جانب من اقتحام قوات الاحتلال لبلدة عناتا ومخيم شعفاط بالقدس المحتلة قبل قليل pic.twitter.com/baJkN8VDxb

— فلسطين أون لاين (@pl24online) October 17, 2022

"Throughout last week, Israeli forces have arrested 72 Palestinians in several parts of Jerusalem," Madhat Dibeh, a Jerusalem-based Palestinian lawyer and activist, told The New Arab.

"These include 11 arrested on Tuesday, suspected of aiding Odai Tamimi," said Dibeh. "Many of the arrested were released, while most of them remain in custody under interrogation."

"Two of them, a brother and a sister, were transferred to the Israeli military court of Ofer, as they are holders of Palestinian West Bank IDs and not Jerusalem residents," he added.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces partially eased on Monday its military closure on the Shuafat refugee camp, as they continue to search for Tamimi.

"Life in Shuafat has been deeply affected by the closure, and it will take time to recover," Nawal Hijazi, journalist and resident of the besieged camp, told The New Arab.

#فيديو#اقتحام قوات الاحتلال بأعداد كبيرة لمخيم شعفاط و بلدة عناتا شمال القدس بعد منتصف الليل#Video
A large number of occupation forces raid the Shu’fat refugee camp and Anata north of Jerusalem after midnight pic.twitter.com/5d8F2BWXhn

— Silwanic (@Silwanic1) October 18, 2022

"The UN medical centre exhausted its medicine supply in the first six days, and there are some 3,000 permanently ill people, including 800 with disabilities who haven't been able to go to their medical appointments outside the camp," Hijazi pointed out.

"Thousands of daily workers remained without income for the whole week, and many working for Israeli employers lost their jobs," she added.

The attacks in Jerusalem by Israeli forces are part of a larger ongoing escalation in the occupied West Bank, which includes an ongoing Israeli military closure on the city of Nablus that has persisted for the eighth day.

Israeli forces also arrested early on Tuesday 11 Palestinians from across the occupied West Bank.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners' Club, Israeli forces have arrested at least 5,300 Palestinians since the beginning of 2022.