Israel arrests 21 Palestinians in Jerusalem raids

By AbdelRaouf Arnaout
JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli police rounded up 21 Palestinians in overnight raids in East Jerusalem, according to local residents on Monday.

Israeli forces raided several homes in Jerusalem's Old City and At-Tur neighborhood and took them into custody, they said.

No reason was provided for the arrests.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the decades-long Mideast conflict, with Palestinians insisting that East Jerusalem -- occupied by Israel since 1967 -- should serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.

International law continues to view East Jerusalem, along with the entire West Bank, as "occupied territories" and considers all Jewish settlement construction there as illegal.

*Bassel Ibrahim contributed to this report from Ankara