Israelis abduct PA employees from Hebron office

Israeli occupation forces raided a Palestinian Authority office in the West Bank city of Hebron on Tuesday and abducted five employees, Quds Press has reported. The office itself was then closed by the Israelis for the second time in a week.

Local sources told Quds Press that the Israeli forces also confiscated the contents of the PA office, which is located in Hebron’s Old City. Another employee, Aref Jaber, was out of the office when the occupation forces raided it. He said that the Israelis warned the PA that the office must not be reopened.

The office is administered by Hebron’s mayor and offers services to tourists. There is also provision for local conflict resolution. It opened a month ago and only civilian employees work there.

Read: Israel raids PalMedia headquarters in Ramallah

Palestinian sources said that the Israeli occupation authorities released the employees on Tuesday evening after completing their investigations.

The Palestinian news agency Ma’an pointed out that there are around 800 notoriously aggressive Jewish settlers living in the Old City of Hebron under heavy military protection. Their status and illegal activities are recorded in a 2016 report by legal rights NGO BADIL.