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Israeli
soldiers started on Sunday at dawn a wide-scaled military offensive in Nablus, in the northern part of the West
Bank. The offensive included at least six abductions, imposing
curfew, breaking into houses and local radio and TV stations, dividing the city
and surrounding a local hospital.
The invasion was described
as the largest in the city in six months; dozens of armored vehicles, jeeps and
military bulldozers invaded Nablus
and imposed curfew barring the resident from leaving their homes.
Palestinian security
sources in the city reported that soldiers invaded Al Yasmin neighborhood, in
the Old City of Nablus, al Kasaba neighborhoud in addition to other areas in
the city, broke into dozens of homes and used some of the attacked buildings as
military posts and monitoring towers.
Residents of the attacked
homes were locked in one room in each home as the soldiers controlled their
properties.
Also, soldiers surrounded
the National Hospital
in the center on Nablus,
searched and interrogated the residents who were trying to enter the hospital
or trying to leave it.
Military bulldozers placed
concrete blocks in front of the Ministry of Education in the city and barred
the resident from entering that area.
Six residents were abducted
by the army after the soldiers broke into a home they were hiding in.
Palestinian security
sources identified the six as Ammar Hijab, 40, Nayif Hijab, 36, Nawwaf Hijab,
27, Tamer Hijab 17, Saed Tuffaha and his brother Khader.
Moreover, soldiers broke
into several local radio and TV stations in the city and released names of
wanted fighters. Soldiers also used the attacked stations to broadcast warnings
to the residents that they will be punished if they leave their homes, and
warned them not to come close to public institutions and banks.
Troops also stated that
this wide military offensive aims at abducting wanted fighters, especially the
following residents; Mahdi Abu Ghazala, Ammar Akoub, Sufian Qandeel, Amin
Lubbada, Abdul-Rahman Shinnawi, and Mahdi Akoub.
According to army sources,
two soldiers were mildly injured during the military offesnive.
In addition to barring the
employees and workers from leaving their homes, the curfew barred more than 45,000
school students, and 16,000 university students from reaching their educational
facilities.
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