Ramallah: Fourteen Palestinians were arrested by Israeli occupation forces in Nablus, the Palestinian Prisoners Club said on Wednesday.
The occupation forces seized huge amounts of money and gold from the detainees’ houses, which were ransacked during the crackdown.
The arrests happened late Tuesday night and nearly 20,000 shekel (Dh18,703) was taken from the house of Ezz Omran in the village of Deir Al Hatab. A large quantity of gold was stolen from the house of Naseem Al Karki in the village of Salem near Nablus.
Israeli media reported that the military operations were aimed at thwarting a plot to attack colonist worshippers at the Joseph Tomb near Balatah Refugee Camp in Nablus.
Shin Bet, the Israeli security agency, claimed a pre-placed bomb and assault rifle fire were to be used in the ambush and that the detainees worked under the direction of the Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian sources have rejected the Israeli claim, saying that Palestinian factions would never harm Joseph’s Tomb because the site is also revered in the Muslim faith.
Palestinians complain that the colonists never adhere to the allocated timings given to them to visit the tomb.
According to the Oslo Accords signed between the Israelis and Palestinians, visits to the site by Jews should be coordinated between both sides.
But Israeli colonists always instigate problems by their disregard for the Oslo Accords agreement since the treaty was signed in 1994.