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HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Palestinian security forces detained 27 people after they stormed the towns of Beit Awwa and Deir Samit in the Hebron region early Saturday, amid what officials say is a growing crackdown on "outlaws" across the West Bank.

"Police arrested 20 fugitives, officers from the preventive security (forces) arrested four, and general intelligence officers arrested three," an official in the Hebron security forces told Ma'an.

The detainees were taken to interrogation centers for questioning following their arrests.

According to officials, the detainees in Beit Awwa and Deir Samit were suspected of involvement in "theft" and drug dealing.

The Hebron official told Ma'an that the detentions were part of a serious attempt to target to lawlessness in the Hebron district in particular and in the West Bank in general.

The security crackdown will continue across the West Bank as part of the PA security services' "effort to eliminate all negative phenomena and protect the security and safety of Palestinian citizens," added the official, urging fugitives to turn themselves in.

Scores of Palestinians have been arrested in recent months as part of the PA's crackdown, and injuries have been reported in the raids.

Home raids in the Nablus-area refugee camp of Balata at the beginning of February, meanwhile, have spurred resistance, particularly after former general intelligence chief and current Fatah member of parliament Jamal Tirawi was confronted by forces there.

At least three members of the security forces were injured in the clashes that broke out in the days that followed the original raid.

PA security forces often conduct late-night raids on the homes of Palestinians across the West Bank, sometimes as a part of "security coordination" with Israel, though these raids are generally carried out in the name of preventing crime and arresting fugitives.

The US-trained security forces have also been plagued by accusations of excessive violence during the raids.

In October, PA forces shot and killed Bilal al-Rajabi, 25, during an arrest raid in Hebron.
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