WEST BANK: Israeli troops clash with Palestinians during a West Bank raid

Israeli forces raided the West Bank city of Nablus on Sunday (February 25), arresting suspected militants and exchanging fire with Palestinians, witnesses said. The raid put 30,000 Palestinians under a curfew imposed by the Israeli army. Israeli media reported that the Israeli military found a workshop of explosives and that troops detained dozens of men in a local school. Nablus' Governor, Kamal al-Sheikh, described the raid as the biggest Israeli operation in the city since 2004. At least three Palestinians were wounded by rubber-coated bullets in confrontations with soldiers, ambulance workers said. An Israeli army spokesman said troops used rubber bullets and tear gas against Palestinians throwing rocks and cement blocks. The spokesman added that two soldiers were slightly wounded by an explosive charge. Residents said soldiers announced over loudspeakers that a curfew would be enforced in the centre of Nablus, where 30,000 people live. The Israeli army, which gave no time limit for the operation, also took over several radio frequencies, drowning out local stations to broadcast to residents the names of wanted militants. Residents said the wanted men included members of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, part of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction, and members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Islamic Jihad, which carried out a suicide bombing that killed three people in Israel on January 29, did not sign a Gaza ceasefire that militants declared with Israel in November. The group said it wanted the truce to extend to the occupied West Bank. In a separate raid on Saturday (February 24), Israeli forces uncovered an explosives laboratory in Nablus containing several pipe bombs and other devices, the army said.

ITN Source | February 26, 2007

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