Israeli troops swept into a West Bank village on Wednesday and seized 18 activists from Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah organisation, Palestinian security sources said.
About 300 soldiers entered the Palestinian village of Azzoun, southwest of the city of Nablus, before dawn and arrested the men, three of whom were also members of the Palestinian general intelligence service, the sources said.
The Israeli army declined comment. Israel has accused some members of Fatah's military wing and Palestinian security services of involvement in attacks on Israelis during a 15-month-old Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation.
Arafat called on December 16 for an end to all assaults on Israelis and ordered the arrest of dozens of militants following a wave of Palestinian suicide attacks. Israel has branded the arrests a sham and has conducted a series of sweeps for militants in Palestinian areas.
In the latest raid, Israeli troops seized 18 men in a house-to-house search of Azzoun and withdrew five hours after they arrived, Palestinian security sources said. No shooting was reported.
Azzoun, which is close to a cluster of Jewish settlements, lies in an area officially under overall Israeli security control and Palestinian civil administration.
(China Daily December 27, 2001)
