The Israeli army said Thursday it had arrested between 20 and 30 Palestinian students in the West Bank it accused of being "terror operatives" of Islamist group Hamas.
Palestinian sources said dozens of students from Birzeit University were arrested as they were returning by bus from the village of Turmus Ayya where earlier this month Israeli troops demolished the family home of a Palestinian American awaiting trial on charges of shooting a Jewish student in the West Bank earlier this year.
An Israeli army statement said: "Some of the apprehended terror operatives were directly involved in terror activities, including money transfers, incitement and the organization of Hamas activities in Judea and Samaria," using the Biblical terms for the West Bank.