WEST BANK: Israeli forces conduct arrest raid on the Balata refugee camp near Nablus

Record ID: 561632

  • Title: WEST BANK: Israeli forces conduct arrest raid on the Balata refugee camp near Nablus
  • Date: 7th November 2007
  • Summary: ISRAELI SOLDIERS WITH ARRESTED PALESTINIANS SOLDIERS IN STREETS SOLDIERS ROUNDING UP GROUP OF PALESTINIANS PALESTINIANS HANDCUFFED
  • Embargoed: 22nd November 2007 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: International Relations,Defence / Military
  • Reuters ID: LVA1IMWP0TB8Z6TOCVG56CAUOSU7
  • Story Text: Israeli forces have conducted an arrest raid on a West Bank refugee camp despite the presence in the area of Palestinian security forces deployed as part of a Western-backed push to bolster West Bank security.
    Some 30 military vehicles drove through the streets of a West Bank refugee camp on Wednesday (November 7) as Israeli forces conducted an arrest campaign.
    The arrest operation in the Balata camp, near Nablus, came as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas deployed his forces as a starting point for a broader campaign to restore law and order in the occupied West Bank ahead of the U.S.-sponsored conference.
    Palestinian witnesses and residents said more than 30 vehicles raided the camp in early morning. Israeli soldiers took up positions on rooftops as they conducted house to house searches.
    Israeli troops arrested more than 25 people, according to Palestinian officials and residents. Officials said some of the detainees belonged to families of militants wanted by the army.
    An Israeli defence ministry statement said Defence Minister Ehud Barak told Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad if the deployment of Palestinian forces in Nablus proved successful it could be expanded to other West Bank towns.
    But Barak said despite the deployment, Israel would continue to retain overall security control in Nablus.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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