The Israeli army arrested dozens of Palestinians throughout the West Bank on Wednesday night according to Ma’an news agency, just as a ceasefire marked an uneasy end to the Israeli war on Gaza.

The eight-day conflict pitting the Israeli army against the Gaza Strip, which killed at least 162 Palestinians and 5 Israelis, has provoked an outpouring of grief and anger throughout the West Bank.

Rallies and vigils for the dead took place throughout the West Bank in solidarity with Gaza, and many demonstrations ended in violent confrontations with the Israeli army.

A military statement said it carried out 55 arrests to “restore calm” after what it called “recent violent and terrorist activity.”

Two Palestinians were shot dead during the protests against Israel’s vicious offensive in Gaza: 31-year-old police officer Rushdi Tamimi and 22-year-old Hamdi Mohammad Jawwad al-Falah. A 20-month-old baby, Nabil Ahmad Nabil, was also killed when a tear-gas canister was fired into his family’s home, asphyxiating him.

The Israeli army said its arrest campaign on Wednesday night targeted “senior operatives” of various Palestinian factions. Local accounts confirmed the arrest of mid-level figures from groups such as Islamic Jihad, Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Around 40 percent of Palestinian men living in occupied territories have been detained by Israel at some point in their lives.

Prisoner support association Addameer estimates that some 4,250 Palestinians were held in Israeli jails as of November 2012, including 156 administrative detainees without charge and 164 children.

(Al-Akhbar, Ma’an)

Source: Al-Akhbar English