Israel continues arrest campaign in occupied West Bank

By Abdel Raouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – The Israeli army detained at least 17 Palestinians in overnight raids carried out across the occupied West Bank.

In a Thursday statement, the army said that the 17 had been rounded up for taking part in “hostile popular activities”.

It did not elaborate on the nature of the alleged activities.

The Israeli army frequently carries out wide-ranging arrest campaigns across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians.

According to estimates, more than 6,000 Palestinians are currently languishing in Israeli detention facilities, including women, children and a handful of lawmakers.

International law views both the West Bank and East Jerusalem as "occupied territory" and considers all Jewish settlement-building activity there as illegal.