260 Palestinians detained since US Jerusalem move: NGO

By Lubaba Zoukan

RAMALLAH, Palestine

Israeli forces have detained 260 Palestinians since U.S. President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital last week, according to a Palestinian NGO.

“The Israeli army has rounded up 260 Palestinians since Trump’s declaration,” the Palestinian Prisoners Society said in a statement on Wednesday.

A total of 60 Palestinians have been arrested in overnight raids in the West Bank on Wednesday, the NGO said, adding that eight children from Jerusalem were among the detainees.

Earlier Wednesday, the son of senior Hamas leader Hasan Yousef told Anadolu Agency that his father had been detained in an Israeli raid in Ramallah.

According to official Palestinian figures, around 6,400 Palestinians are held in prisons and detention camps throughout Israel.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem – occupied by Israel in 1967 -- might eventually serve as the capital of a future Palestinian state.