IDF arrests 14 Palestinians, seizes weapons and bombs

IDF troops and police arrested fourteen Palestinian suspects during raids across the West Bank overnight Wednesday, the army said Thursday morning.

Security forces also uncovered weapons parts and two pipe bombs, according to an IDF statement.

One of the detainees is a suspected activist for the Hamas terror organization, the IDF said.

The remaining thirteen suspects are believed to have taken part in or led violent protests and clashes with Israeli forces termed by the army as “popular terror.”

Six of the suspects were arrested in the Nur Shams refugee camp and two nearby villages in the northern West Bank. Six Palestinians were arrested in the central West Bank. Another two suspects were arrested in the southern West bank, including one in the Deheishe refugee camp adjacent to Bethlehem.

The suspects were transferred for questioning by security forces, the statement said.

Overnight IDF arrest raids in the West Bank are common and have stepped up slightly as military officials attempt to head off what they fear may be an uptick in violence during the fall holiday season, when tensions have been known to rise.

The army and police are also in the midst of a large campaign to crackdown on illegal arms manufacturing and weapons smuggling in the West Bank and Israel.