Israeli forces swept into two West Bank cities early on Tuesday, seizing more than 160 Palestinians in the course of a large-scale raid on Hebron and in Nablus.
The raid on Hebron, in which troops arrested about 130 Palestinians comes just days after Israeli troops assassinated Abdullah Qawasme, the Hamas leader in the city. The occupation army said the operation was an attempt to head off planned Hamas activity and to gather information on wanted men.
Israeli troops raided also the old city of Nablus in the early hours of Tuesday after clashing with Palestinians in the area. Several Palestinians were detained. In the Jenin area of the northern West Bank, Israeli troops demolished the house of Jalal Mahameed, who was involved in a suicide bombing inside Israel about four months ago.
Meanwhile, Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders were in Cairo to deliver their response to recent efforts to broker a cease-fire with Israel, while Palestinian officials said that Hamas and other groups were on the verge of agreeing to halt attacks on Israelis.
"We're trying to convince the Hamas and Jihad people to put an end to their armed resistance during a [cease-fire], during which we will work for implementation of the road map," Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher told Israel Television on Monday. He said there were still some
problems with Hamas.
The terms of the emerging deal between Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and the armed groups are not clear. A Palestinian mediator who has been shuttling between the sides said the truce will be open-ended and apply not only to Israel, but also the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
But a leader of one of the armed groups, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Hamas will only accept a three-month truce.
In a related development, Israel will hand over responsibility for security arrangements in parts of the Gaza Strip and Bethlehem to the Palestinian authority "within days," Israel Radio quoted senior security sources as saying Monday.
According to the report, the sources said that after a meeting between Major-General Amos Gilad, and Palestinian Security Minister Mohammed Dahlan, the only remaining dispute between the two sides was over who would patrol the road between the northern and southern sections of the Strip.
A proposal to initiate joint patrols is being considered by both sides. Monday's meeting between Gilad and Dahlan at the Erez checkpoint in Gaza Strip was described as "friendly." The two are expected to meet again in the coming days, Army Radio reported. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
