UPDATE - 100 Palestinians detained since dawn Thursday: NGO

ADDS BACKGROUND

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – The Israeli army has detained roughly 100 Palestinians throughout the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since dawn Thursday, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Association said in a Friday statement.

According to the NGO, the latest spate of arrests included two members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Palestine’s long-moribund parliament.

The association went on to assert that the Israeli army’s latest arrest campaign had seen numerous Palestinian homes ransacked.

On Thursday, two Israelis were killed -- and two others injured -- in a drive-by shooting near the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Following the incident, the Israeli army launched a manhunt for the alleged Palestinian assailant, who reportedly fled the scene in the wake of the attack.

Residents of the area told Anadolu Agency earlier that two Palestinians in a car had opened fire on a group of Jewish settlers.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Israeli army has since closed all entrances into Ramallah and ordered all forces in the area to remain on standby.

According to local media reports, Jewish settlers vandalized several Palestinian vehicles and homes in the village of Netin east of Ramallah after the attack.

Notably, Thursday’s attack occurred hours after three Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces for their alleged involvement in an earlier West Bank shooting attack that left two Israelis dead and nine others injured.

According to Israeli media reports, Israeli forces on Thursday killed a fourth Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank after he allegedly tried to ram his vehicle into a group of Israeli soldiers in the city of Hebron (Al-Khalil).