Israeli army rounds up 13 Palestinians in W. Bank raids

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - Israeli forces detained 13 Palestinians in overnight raids carried out across the occupied West Bank, the Israeli military said Thursday.

The individuals were arrested for “suspected involvement in popular terrorist activities”, the army asserted in a statement without elaborating.

The detainees have been remanded into custody for further investigation, the statement added.

The Palestinian Prisoners Club, an NGO, said in a statement that a total of 17 people -- not only 13 as the army claimed -- had been rounded up in the raids.

According to estimates, some 6,500 Palestinians are currently languishing in Israeli prisons, including 62 women and about 350 minors.

The Israeli army frequently carries out sweeping arrest campaigns across the occupied West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians.

The Palestinian territories have remained tense since last December when U.S. President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Occupied by Israel in 1967, East Jerusalem -- which the Palestinians want as the capital of a future Palestinian state -- remains at the heart of the decades-long Middle East conflict.