Israeli army arrests 40 more Palestinians in West Bank raids

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) - At least 40 Palestinians were detained by the Israeli army in military raids carried out in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, according to a local nongovernmental organization.

Most of the detainees were taken into custody in the cities of Bethlehem and Jenin, the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a statement.

Ten workers from the Gaza Strip were among those arrested, the official news agency Wafa reported.

Tensions have been running high across the West Bank amid an Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

The Israeli army has since detained more than 3,580 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to Palestinian figures.

Before the outbreak of the Gaza conflict, the number of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails was estimated at around 5,200, including more than 1,000 held under Israel's notorious administrative detention policy without charge or trial.