JERUSALEM, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli army said on Tuesday that 22 Palestinians were arrested in overnight raids across the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The 22 were arrested for "suspected involvement in popular terror and violent disturbances against civilians and soldiers," the army said in a statement.
The army often uses "popular terror" to refer to participating in protests, and hurling stones and explosives at Israeli soldiers and settlers.
During the raids, Israeli troops also seized two M-16 assault rifles and two pistols in the flashpoint city of Hebron, south of Jerusalem, and in the village of Salem, east of Nablus city.
The Israeli army frequently carries out raids in the West Bank and East Jerusalem to search for what it says "wanted" Palestinians.
According to B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, there were 5,934 Palestinians in Israeli detention facilities, including some 50 women and 205 minors, by the end of December 2018.
The recent raids came amid elevated tensions between Palestinians and Israelis over the decision of the Israeli cabinet to withhold 138 million U.S. dollars of Palestinian tax revenues.
Israel says the funds will be deducted to pressure the Palestinian Authority to stop paying to Palestinian attackers and their families.
Palestinians officials condemned the move, saying it was illegal under the Paris Protocol signed in 1994 to regulate the relations between Israel and the Palestinians.
Ibrahim Khreisheh, Palestinian ambassador at the UN Human Rights Council, said the decision would lead to an acute deterioration in the Palestinian economy, and "contacts were already held with European countries to brief them on the Israeli decision of piracy."
