Posted on 03/09/2002 12:00:14 AM PST by kattracks
Jerusalem, Mar 09, 2002 (EFE via COMTEX) -- Some 600 Palestinians arrested by Israeli troops in their swoop on a West Bank refugee camp have been trasferred to Israeli jails, Israeli state radio reported Saturday.
Around 200 of the Palestinians surrendered their arms and gave up voluntarily, Israeli Defense Minister Benjamin Ben Eliezer said late Friday, adding that some of the detainees were wanted by the Palestinian security forces.
Others are members of the Palestinian National Authority's own security forces and will be freed, the minister said.
All were rounded up on Friday during an incursion into the camp in Tulkarem by Israeli troops backed by tanks on the bloodiest day in the 17-month-long Palestinian intifada against Israeli rule.
The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that 80 Palestinians had died Friday in clashes with Israeli troops but most reports put the death toll at around 40.
Israeli military sources said the raids on homes in the camp also turned up a cache of explosives and a factory to manufacture the homemade Qasam II rockets used by Palestinian activists. Ten of the rockets were seized.
Fighting continued Saturday with Israel Air Force planes attacking Palestinian government facilities in the West Bank city of Nablus, although there were no immediate reports of casualties.
ez/bjCopyright (c) 2002. Agencia EFE S.A.
Naaaaaaaah. They're cowards, and it's a weekend, a target rich enviornment when you're after women and children.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.