Israeli forces Monday stormed an orphanage and a livestock farm in Beit Ummar town, north of Hebron city, in the southern West Bank, said a local activist.

Mohammad Awad, spokesperson for the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in Beit Ummar, said forces stormed Beit Ummar Orphan Care Society (or the Society of the Care for Orphans) in the town neighborhood of al-Bayyada.

The raiding soldiers, added Awad, locked the security guard into a room before  they carried out a thorough search for hours.

Soldiers also destroyed a number of wooden doors, ransacked and flipped the orphanage’s records on the floor. They also broke into the chairman’s office, sabotaged with orphans’ records and confiscated the storage devices from three of the office’s computers.

The Israeli incursion in the town provoked clashes between Palestinian villagers and the Israeli army. The latter fired tear gas canisters, causing several villagers to suffer from excessive tear gas inhalation.

Soldiers also stormed a livestock farm belonging to Naim Abu Maria in the Beit Ummar. They briefly detained the farm owner and his sons before they thoroughly searched the farm.

In the meantime in Jenin district, forces broke into and ransacked a car showroom and coffee shop at Arraba junction, southwest of the city.

The owners of the car showroom and coffee shop were identified as Jihad Musa and Ayman Ghalib. During the offensive in Arraba, soldiers fired tear gas canisters at local youths during subsequent clashes. No injuries were reported.

Source : WAFA