Eight Palestinians injured, 21 detained as Israel storms West Bank refugee camps

Eight Palestinians were injured by Israeli fire following clashes in the Qalandiya refugee camp, north of Jerusalem, and the Dahisha refugee camp near Bethlehem. Three of the injuries were described as critical.

Twenty one Palestinians, most of whom had previously served time in Israeli jails, were also arrested, according to a statement by the Palestinian Prisoners' Club.

The Palestinian Authority's (PA) health ministry said that four injured Palestinians were taken to the Palestine Medical Compound in Ramallah from Qalandiya.

The ministry said that one of the injured was shot in the chest, another in the stomach, and a third in the thigh. All of them were being operated on. A fourth casualty had suffered a relatively light wound to the leg.

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The Qalandiya Media Centre said that Israeli occupation forces also stormed a house and detained two brothers in Qalandiya, Muaz Khaled Hamad and Mohammed Khaled Hamad.

Eyewitnesses said that 300 to 400 Israeli soldiers stormed the Qalandiya camp at around 9 am local time (0700 GMT).

Four other Palestinians were injured by Israeli forces in the Dahisha refugee camp south of Bethlehem in the West Bank.

The Palestinian official news agency WAFA said that clashes had broken out when Israeli forces stormed the refugee camp.

Bullets and tear gas grenades were used by Israeli forces against youths who tried to prevent their entry to the camp. At least four Palestinians were detained during the storming of the camp.

One of the Palestinians detained by Israeli forces on Monday was Usamah Al-Rajabi in Jerusalem. He had just been released after spending five years in Kt'ziot Prison in the Negev Desert, southern Israel, and was re-arrested immediately after his release.

The Palestinian Prisoners# Club said that this was not the first time a Palestinian prisoner from Jerusalem had been detained this way.

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