By DPA,
Ramallah/Tel Aviv : Israeli forces arrested 363 Palestinians in the West Bank during April, a Palestinian report said Saturday.
Most of the arrests were in Nablus city, where the army arrested 128 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Centre for Prisoners’ Defence.
The Israeli army declined to confirm or deny the report. Israeli forces regularly raid West Bank cities and villages, searching for wanted Palestinian militants.
The report said the latest arrests did not appear to target a specific age or category and “had included all Palestinian citizens”.
It added that the Israeli soldiers used police dogs and beat the prisoners during the raids.
The West Bank is administered by the Palestinian Authority (PA) and run by security forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas.
Meanwhile, pro-Abbas forces arrested 80 rival Hamas members in April, a report by the Islamic movement said.
“The Palestinian security services rotate roles with the Israeli army forces in the detentions,” Hamas said in a statement faxed to the media.
Hamas also accused the acting government, led by Acting Prime Minister S alam Fayyad, of taking part in the crackdown against its partisans and supporters.
The crackdown on Hamas started when the Islamic movement took over the Gaza Strip by force, ousting Abbas’ Fatah movement.