**JERUSALEM**
The Israeli army said Tuesday that it uncovered an explosives laboratory in Tulkarem and arrested dozens of Palestinians in a series of raids.
The military said it found a facility containing tools for manufacturing explosives in the northern occupied West Bank.
The army, in coordination with the internal security agency, Shin Bet, arrested 12 Palestinians in an operation, according to a statement.
But Israeli Army Radio reported that 16 individuals were detained in the West Bank and an alleged explosives lab was discovered in Tulkarem.
In a separate operation, the military said it thwarted “terrorist activities throughout Judea and Samaria” -- the biblical name Israel uses for the West Bank – and arrested 15 additional suspects and confiscated two firearms along with other weapons.
Israeli forces also stormed towns and ordered Palestinians to evacuate homes in the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem, intensifying a months-long campaign.
The latest raids on Palestinian areas come amid a military offensive in occupied territories, particularly in Jenin and Tulkarem, where the Israeli army has been engaging in aggressive operations since Jan. 21.
Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank, where more than 940 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 7,000 injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers since the start of an onslaught on the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The International Court of Justice declared Israel’s longstanding occupation of Palestinian territories illegal in July. It demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
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