VOA News
24 Jun 2003, 12:35 UTC
The Israeli army says more than 150 Palestinian activists have been arrested during security sweeps in the West Bank.
A large-scale raid took place in Hebron early Tuesday, where some 130 Palestinians with suspected links to the militant Hamas organization were arrested. It followed an operation overnight in Nablus where about 20 more activists were detained.
The Israeli raids come as Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas awaits an answer from militant groups on whether they will agree to a cease-fire in attacks on Israelis.
Hamas officials reacted with anger to the latest Israeli crackdown, saying Israel is trying to sabotage chances of a truce.
On Monday, security talks between Palestinian security chief Mohammad Dahlan and Israeli General Amos Gilad concluded without any final agreement. The Palestinians want a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and Bethlehem, as well as end to targeted killings of militants.
Israel says it will only agree to a withdrawal from Gaza if Palestinians can guarantee security there. Israel is also demanding a complete end to terror, not a temporary truce.
The two sides are expected to meet again Tuesday.
Meanwhile, in the Israeli city of Haifa Tuesday, an Israeli court charged five Israeli-Arab leaders of the Israeli Islamic Movement with illegally funneling millions of dollars to Hamas and with having contacts with Iranian intelligence agents.
Hundreds of Israeli Arabs protested outside the Haifa district court. There are more than one million Israeli Arabs in Israel.
In another development, the White House announced Monday that President George W. Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, will travel to the Middle East on Saturday for talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
Some information for this report provided by Reuters, AFP and AP.
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