ISRAEL'S MILITARY ARRESTS INSURGENTS IN JENIN
JERUSALEM Ñ Israel's military have captured Palestinian insurgents
in the northern West Bank.
Hundreds of Israeli troops and scores of tanks and armored vehicles
participated in a house-to-house search in Jenin over the weekend. The
operation began on early Saturday after a curfew was imposed on 50,000
residents of Jenin and an adjacent refugee camp.
"There was some resistance in the beginning, but now the area is quiet,"
Lt. Col. Mordechai, the commander of the Israeli force, said. "We plan on
staying here for however long it takes."
Military sources said the operation was meant to capture 20 Palestinians
involved in the recruitment and planning of suicide bombings in Israel. By
Sunday, 30 Palestinians were arrested, including 13 on the wanted list.
One of those arrested, the sources said, was on his way to a suicide
mission.
The search operation in the Jenin area could last a week, the sources
said. They said the mission was launched as a result of a suicide bombing of
an Israeli bus on Oct. 21 in which 14 people were killed. The attack took
place three days after Israeli troops withdraw from Jenin.
