Israeli tanks and troops raided the West Bank town of Tulkarem before dawn on Thursday, searching houses and mosques and making arrests, before pulling out, witnesses said.
The latest incursion took place just hours after Israeli forces ended their siege of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Palestinian witnesses and security sources told Reuters tanks and soldiers left three neighborhoods of Tulkarem after detaining eight activists, mostly members of Hamas.
The army said in a statement troops had entered an area in the southeastern part of Tulkarem and arrested five people suspected of involvement in attacks against Israelis.
Palestinian witnesses said troops held about a third of the town. They said tanks patrolled the streets while soldiers searched houses and two mosques. Troops also briefly entered three villages in the area and made at least one arrest, witnesses said.
Meanwhile, at a refugee camp near Hebron early on Thursday, Israeli troops arrested 112 Palestinians in a sweep for suspected activists.
Earlier, Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters battled near Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity in the pre-dawn hours of Thursday morning, in what witnesses said was some of the worst fighting since a standoff at the site began one month ago.
Palestinians said the fire broke out when soldiers fired flares that touched off the blaze in the Orthodox and Franciscan sections of the church compound. This incident came just as the two sides appeared to be making some headway in negotiating an end to the impasse. French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, one of Pope John Paul II closest aides, arrived in Israel on Wednesday to give a boost to the talks.
Flames leaped out of three rooms in these sections of the compound. Palestinians said by telephone from inside the church that three people were slightly burned trying to put out the blaze. After about 30 minutes, the flames were extinguished and an uneasy calm returned to the area. There was no apparent damage to the church.
In Ramallah, Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat, hours after Israeli forces lifted the siege over his Ramallah compound, slammed Israel for the fighting near the church.
"It is not important what happened to me here. What is important is what is happening in the Church of the Nativity. This is a crime," Arafat told reporters in his offices.
Saeb Erakat, the top Palestinian negotiator, accused Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of "burning the church." (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
