Israeli occupation forces have detained 15 Palestinians in overnight raids over alleged connection to a shooting incident that killed two Israelis at the weekend.
The arrest, ordered by Israel’s spy agency the Shin Bet, took place on Tuesday in the Wadi Ara area, in the Palestinian city of Umm al-Fahm and nearby villages.
The Israeli police said in a statement that it would step up its arrest campaign, which is expected to continue over the next few days, and would target Palestinian citizens on suspicion of supporting what it called "terrorist" groups.
Since early Monday, Israeli police have carried out search operations across the Palestinian territories, including the occupied Negev and Galilee regions. The raids included home searches and field interrogations.
Police arrested five people from Umm al-Fahm overnight on Monday.
Gunmen on Sunday killed two Israelis in the city of Hadera in the northern part of the occupied territories before being gunned down themselves by undercover Israeli police officers.
At least three more police officers were injured during the shootout, Israeli police spokesman Eli Levy said.
Tensions have been running high across the Palestinian territories since last month, when Israeli forces and illegal settlers renewed their attacks on Palestinians in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of the holy city of al-Quds.
The neighborhood has been the scene of frequent crackdowns by Israeli regime forces on the Palestinians protesting against the threatened expulsion of more than a dozen families from their homes in favor of Israeli settler groups.