Israeli security forces have arrested Hassan Yusef, one of Hamas’ top figures in the occupied West Bank, in an overnight raid near Ramallah, the Israeli army said.

“During the night, forces of the army and the Shin Bet [internal security service] arrested Hassan Yusef, a Hamas leader, in Beitunia, southwest of Ramallah,” an army statement said on Tuesday.

Yusef has been arrested several times in the past by Israeli authorities.

Rights groups have decried Israeli measures as the government continues to crack down on Palestinians, among them many Israeli citizens, amid unrest across the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel.

On Monday, police arrested eight activists for their participation in protests last week in Umm al-Fahm, a Palestinian town in northern Israel, local media reported.

In one week, Israeli police arrested more than 100 demonstrators and activists during protests in Palestinian areas, according to Adalah, a Haifa-based legal centre for Palestinians in Israel.

Nadim Nashif, director of Baladna, a Haifa-based Palestinian youth advocacy group, said Israel has launched “a harsh crackdown”.

“Like during the second Intifada, Israel wants us to be scared, shut up and not participate. But our participation has been big,” he told Al Jazeera.

Since the beginning of the month, protests have been held in Nazareth, Haifa, Acre, Sakhnin, Tamra and Arrabeh, among other Palestinian communities in Israel.

“The uprising is everywhere,” Nashif said. Al Jazeera