Israeli army arrested nine people in the West Bank Thursday as Palestinians prepare to mark the 63rd anniversary of Israel's creation that they call Nakba (catastrophe), Xinhua reported.
Palestinian security sources said that the army raided houses in several cities in the West Bank early Thursday and arrested nine people.
An Israeli army spokesperson told Israel Radio that the nine were wanted by Israeli intelligence and security agencies.
The Israeli army enters Palestinian-controlled areas in the West Bank to arrest wanted Palestinians on daily basis.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army beefed up its presence in the West Bank three days before the Palestinians mark the Nakba.
According to Israel Radio, the army got instructions to avoid direct confrontation with Palestinians who will take to the streets in demonstrations Sunday.
Also Thursday, an electric shock killed Palestinian working in a tunnel beneath the Gaza Strip's southern borders with Egypt, witnesses said. The death of the 18-year-old worker comes a day after a Palestinian was killed when one of the smuggling tunnels caved in.
Work in the tunnels in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip shrank after Israel relaxed its closure on the coastal enclave in June 2010.