By Xinhua
Ramallah : Israeli army arrested 16 Palestinians in the West Bank, Palestinian sources said on Sunday.
According to the Israeli and Palestinian security sources, the 16 detainees were taken away late Saturday night and early Sunday, 10 of them were caught near Nablus, four in Jericho, one in Hebron and one near Ramallah.
Israeli sources said that the detainees were wanted by the army for being involved in anti-Israel activities.
During the first half of February, Israel arrested a total of 234 Palestinians in the West Bank cities and villages, a report said.
To accommodate the increasing inmates, the Israeli authorities expanded the prisons and adapted some interrogation facilities into prisons, according to the West Bank-based Prisoners’ Media Center.
Meanwhile, Islamic Hamas movement said the Palestinian security forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas, who is also the head of Fatah movement, arrested five Hamas supporters in the West Bank cities of Jenin, Hebron and Tulkarem.
Pro-Abbas forces intensified pressure on Hamas for fears that the Islamic movement may take over the West Bank following Hamas violent takeover of the Gaza Strip In June 2007.