Israeli forces arrest Palestinian expert on settlements in Jerusalem

Israeli police arrest Director of Arab Studies Khalil Tafakji

The Palestine Chronicle reports on 9 July 2020:

Israeli forces yesterday arrested Khalil Tafakji, head of the maps department at the Arab Studies Society in Jerusalem, the news agency Anadolu reported.

A source in the Tafakji family told Anadolu that large numbers of occupation police and intelligence services stormed the department and tampered with its possessions.   After extensive searches, the Israeli forces arrested Tafakji, who is also an expert in Jewish settlements.

The source, who preferred not to be named, explained that “the Israeli police and intelligence services did not provide reasons for the raid or Tafakji’s arrest.”

Takfaji is a prominent expert in the affairs of Jewish settlements and documents their activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.   He was last detained in February.

Over the last few months, Israeli police forces have been raiding east Jerusalem neighborhoods on a daily basis, ransacking homes and arresting and assaulting Palestinians.

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