RAMALLAH/JERUSALEM, 14 February 2008 — The Israeli armed forces announced yesterday that they have arrested 70 Palestinians in the West Bank, including 42 in the southern town of Beit Ommar. Palestinian witnesses said troops entered the town early yesterday and imposed a curfew before carrying out the arrests. In January, two members of Islamic Jihad from Beit Ommar were killed in an attack on a Jewish settlement in the West Bank.
Also yesterday, the Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot said that seven soldiers, including two noncommissioned officers, were arrested under the suspicion of being engaged in drug smuggling while wearing Israeli army’s uniform.
Yediot said that the soldiers were arrested Tuesday after an intensive investigation by Israeli military police that included wiretapping and physically trailing the suspects.
Israeli forces arrested 70 Palestinians during a large detention campaign in several West Bank cities. Palestinian security sources said Israeli forces intensified their operations and detained 66 residents in Jenin, Nablus, and Bethlehem while most of the detentions took place in the city of Hebron where 43 people were arrested.
The detentions in Hebron started Tuesday night when more than 30 armored Israeli vehicles stormed Beit Ommar, imposed curfew and asked the residents, via loudspeakers, to get out from houses to be searched. Israeli security forces confirmed the arrest campaign saying that the detainees were wanted by Israeli army for security reasons.
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad yesterday said that Palestinian Authority (PA) must meet the Israeli security needs for there to be cooperation between the two sides. Fayyad told the daily Jerusalem Post in an interview that “adequate cooperation is never complete before our security needs and those of Israel have been met. We understand that.”
