Israeli army detained 25 Palestinians across the West Bank overnight Friday in connection to the disappearance of three Jewish settlers.
"Overnight in ongoing operation, IDF [army] detained some 25 Palestinian suspects," army spokesman Peter Lerner wrote on Twitter.
Three settlers went missing last week from the Jewish-only Gush Etzion settlement in the West Bank last week with Israeli authorities accusing Palestinian group Hamas of abducting the trio.
Since then, Israeli forces have detained around 300 of Palestinians in the West Bank – including several Hamas lawmakers and former ministers – against the backdrop of the settlers' disappearance.
No Palestinian group has claimed responsibility for the alleged kidnapping thus far, nor has Israel produced any evidence of Palestinian involvement.
On Tuesday, Israel's security cabinet vowed to ratchet up military pressure on Hamas and make conditions worse for Hamas-affiliated detainees languishing in Israeli prisons.
By Abdel-Raouf Arnaout
englishnews@aa.com.tr
www.aa.com.tr/en
