By Abdel Raouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM

The Israeli army on Monday rounded up eight Palestinians in overnight raids carried out across the occupied West Bank, according to an Israeli army statement.

The nine were detained for “suspected involvement in popular terrorist activities”, the army asserted without elaborating on the nature of the activities.

They have since been remanded into custody for further investigation, according to the same statement.

The Israeli army frequently conducts sweeping arrest campaigns across the occupied West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians.

According to Palestinian figures, some 6,500 Palestinians are currently languishing in Israeli prisons, including scores of women, roughly 350 minors, and at least six members of the Palestinian Legislative Council.