Israeli police said last week that they had arrested 2,142 Palestinian citizens of Israel filing indictments against 285 of them following protests against Israeli attacks in Jerusalem and the aggression on the besieged Gaza Strip, Anadolu reported.

In a statement the police said 614 people were "still behind bars", while the rest had been released.

Illegal weapons were seized during search and arrest campaigns, they added.

Palestinian citizens of Israel, often called Arab Israelis, constitute about 20 per cent of the number of the country's population.

On 24 May, the Legal Centre for Arab minority rights in Israel, Adalah, said that the Israeli police campaign of arrests was "a war by military police which take place at night and which requires a response from all political forces, parties and the Follow-up Committee alike."

"This is a war of arrests against demonstrators, political activists and minors, which includes large forces raiding the homes of parents and families to intimidate them, and aims to take revenge on Palestinian citizens for their recent political and patriotic stances," it added.