ISRAELI troops arrested 207 suspected Islamic militants in the West Bank today, the army said, in the toughest crackdown in months after the Jewish state vowed to stop Palestinian rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip.
Among those detained were Hassan Youssef and Mohammed Ghazal, top Hamas officials in the occupied West Bank, relatives and sources in the militant group said.
"Our forces have taken 207 fugitives into custody, most of them from Hamas or Islamic Jihad," an army spokeswoman said.
The arrest sweep was the biggest by Israel since Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed a ceasefire in February that paved the way for Israel's withdrawal from Gaza this month.
An Israeli army general said the arrests were among measures authorities had decided on after rocket attacks by Hamas from Gaza. The army has also resumed assassinating militants and got an unprecedented green light to use artillery against Gaza.
"This operation is not limited in time," Major-General Israel Ziv, chief of military operations, told Israel Radio."We have taken the liberty to use all weapons in order to remove this threat (of rocket attacks)." |