JERUSALEM, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Israeli security forces said on Thursday that 19 Palestinians suspected of terrorism were arrested in the West Bank.

The Israel Defense Forces, the Shin Bet security service and the Border Police raided villages and towns in the Jordan Valley and elsewhere in the Israel-occupied West Bank overnight between Wednesday and Thursday.

"The forces arrested 19 wanted persons who are suspected of involvement in terrorist activities, popular terror, and violent riots against civilians and soldiers," the military said in a statement.

The military often uses "popular terror" to refer to stone throwing and torching tires during demonstrations.

The arrests came amid the tension between Israelis and Palestinians, marked by a resurging wave of knife, car-ramming, and shooting attacks against soldiers and settlers in the West Bank.

In the Gaza Strip, weekly Palestinian protests along the security fence are mounted to fight the 52-year-long Israeli occupation and the blockade imposed on the Palestinian enclave since 2007.