RAMALLAH, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli military announced Wednesday that its forces arrested three Palestinian police officers in the West Bank.
In a press statement, the army said its "soldiers apprehended 3 Palestinian police officers who were involved in setting up a roadblock in Area C near Beitunia, detaining and assaulting an Israeli civilian, while going beyond their authority to operate in those areas."
This incident is a serious breach of the mechanisms in place, endangering the life of the Israeli civilian, the statement read.
In response, Palestinian security spokesperson Anwar Rajab condemned the arrest, describing the move as "reprehensible and reprehensible behavior" and an "arbitrary and thuggish measure."
The arrests were part of a "systematic policy aimed at undermining the ability of the Palestinian security forces to perform their duties," Rajab told Xinhua.
Meanwhile, the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission of the Palestine Liberation Organization on Wednesday described the announcement by 12 countries of restrictions on trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank as marking an important development in the shift from political condemnation to practical measures.
On Tuesday, Foreign ministers of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Britain moved to tighten restrictions on trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, as mounting settlement expansion and violence fuel growing concerns over the viability of a two-state solution. ■
