IOF troops storm Nablus, arrest six

January 7, 2007

Nablus - IOF troops stormed the largest Palestinian West Bank city of Nablus at dawn Sunday and retreated a few hours later after rounding up six Palestinians including four allegedly affiliated with the AMB, the armed wing of the Fatah Movement, locals reported.

They said that IOF soldiers mounting 40 army vehicles and escorting a huge bulldozer besieged two alleys in the western suburbs of the city and occupied a number of buildings.

They forced occupants of a building into the open cold, rainy weather and searched all its apartments after blasting their way into the building.

Witnesses said that the soldiers questioned the inhabitants before retreating with four Palestinians claiming they were AMB fighters.

In other Nablus areas and in the nearby Balata refugee camp two more Palestinian civilians were arrested.

The Hebrew radio, for its part, said that IOF units rounded up eight Palestinians on Sunday morning and six others last night in Tulkarm, Ramallah, Nablus, Bethlehem and Al-Khalil districts.

In a related development, Israeli police launched a campaign of arrests in lines of Palestinian west Bankers in the 1948 occupied lands and captured 550 workers.

The Hebrew broadcast reported that the workers were rounded up over the past couple of days for not having permits allowing them to work in the green line (Palestinian lands occupied since 1948).

It noted that the majority of them were returned to the West Bank while 80 were retained for questioning.