Israeli forces arrest Abed al-Karim Assi after six-week manhunt

Palestine

Published: 2018-03-18 14:08

Last Updated: 2024-03-29 08:49


19-year-old Abed al-Karim Assi is a Palestinian-Israeli resident of Jaffa.
19-year-old Abed al-Karim Assi is a Palestinian-Israeli resident of Jaffa.

Israeli forces have arrested 19-year-old Abed al-Karim Assi in Nablus, West Bank, in a pre-dawn military operation after a six-week manhunt. Assi was injured during the Sunday raid, the Israeli Security Agency said. A number of people who were with Assi, were also taken into custody during the raid.

Assi, who is an Arab-Israeli resident of Jaffa has been accused of killing Israeli settler Itamar Ben-Gal in February outside the settlement of Ariel. Since then, Israeli forces have been searching for Assi who was injured during the incident.

According to the Israeli human rights group, B’tselem, there are more than 600,000 Israeli settlers currently reside in over 200 Israeli settlements established in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, covering 53,813 hectares of land – almost 10% of the West Bank.

Even though more than 100 of the settlements are unauthorized by the Israeli government, construction is supported and assisted by the government. Settlements have a destructive effect on Palestinians and their daily lives as lands are taken by force and daily activities disrupted due to roadblocks, checkpoints and other measurements.