Mayor Rafat Khalifeh, the head of the municipal council in the occupied West Bank village of Kafr Nime near Ramallah, has told Al Jazeera that Israeli forces detained more than 30 young men, some as young as 15, yesterday in a village park “for whatever reason that is not clear”.

The high school students are expected to sit their exams in two days, he says, fearing that the development will affect the educational prospects of the village youngsters.

“People are intimidated very much,” he said, adding that the village has “suffered a lot” since the outbreak of the Gaza offensive as Israeli raids have become more frequent.

He also said that the Israelis created illegal settlements near his village and the settlers were intimidating the Kafr Nime residents.