A Hamas official in the occupied West Bank says Israeli forces have arrested dozens of Hamas supporters, including legislators, in overnight raids.
Palestinian media also reported on Friday that scores of Palestinians, including two legislators, have been arrested across the West Bank in overnight raids.
The Israeli military said it arrested 40 people and alleged 37 of them are linked to Hamas.
Overnight, Israeli occupation forces arrested some 40 Palestinians across the West Bank & East Jerusalem, including 2 Hamas-affiliated MPs.
AFP notes the army didn't claim any of the arrests were related to yesterday's shooting.https://t.co/RyMz4miG9mhttps://t.co/94wg1CNaCg
— Ben White (@benabyad) December 14, 2018
The arrests come as four Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in separate operations over the past 24 hours, with the Israeli army declaring the city of Ramallah a closed military zone, as it carried out searches around the roads entering and exiting the city.
The closure was announced following a shooting attack near the illegal Israeli settlement of Ofra east of Ramallah. Two Israeli soldiers were killed by an unknown Palestinian.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Thursday to legalize thousands of Jewish settlement homes in the West Bank that were built without Israeli permits.
Israeli forces arrest 40 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank during a search for an attacker who shot dead two Israeli soldiers https://t.co/5I0wEgKdmY
— The National (@TheNationalUAE) December 14, 2018
Settlements are considered a violation of international law.
He also vowed to expedite the demolition of Palestinian attackers’ homes, increase detentions of Hamas members already in Israeli prisons and beef up Israeli forces in the area.
A total of 56 Palestinians across the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem were also arrested by the Israeli army early on Thursday morning.
#Israel Imposes Closure as Clashes Erupt across #Ramallah (VIDEO) https://t.co/LYn6yqkCr0 @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/Xc0vPoNB9s
— Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) December 13, 2018
In the aftermath of the overnight killings, dozens of Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian vehicles with rocks on the busy Route 60 highway, south of Nablus.
The Israeli army frequently carries out wide-ranging arrest campaigns across the West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians.
According to Palestinian figures, some 6,000 Palestinians continue to languish in Israeli detention facilities, including scores of women and hundreds of minors.
(AJE, PC, Social Media)
