This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Israeli occupation forces arrested the writer and political researcher Sari Orabi after raiding his home at dawn on Thursday in the town of Rafat, north of occupied Jerusalem, according to local media sources.

The sources said Israeli forces carried out wide arrest raids early on Thursday across several areas of the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem. The raids targeted a number of young men and former prisoners after their homes were stormed, searched and damaged.

Sari Orabi is a writer and researcher specialising in politics and Islamic thought. His articles have been published in several newspapers, magazines, websites and research centres. He also regularly appears as a commentator on cultural, intellectual and political issues on a number of television channels.

In addition to Orabi, Israeli forces arrested Ibrahim Hourani after raiding his home in the city of Qalqilya. In the town of Aroura, north of Ramallah, they arrested Nasser Mufaraj and his son Amr, and re-arrested former prisoner Tayseer Khusaib following home raids.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office said the continued arrest campaigns show that Israeli policy targets academics, writers, former prisoners and young people alike, rather than a specific group. It said this reflects a clear attempt to suppress public awareness and social influence within Palestinian society.

READ: Israel’s membership suspended from European Transport Safety Council over government actions

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.