Nablus, June 28: Israeli troops arrested 35 Palestinian men today, including Islamic militants, in separate sweeps in the West Bank, and two children were wounded as soldiers opened fire on stone-throwers, Palestinian witnesses and security sources said. At least 10 Palestinians were arrested in Azmout just east of Nablus when troops backed by tanks and a helicopter stormed in, imposing a curfew and combing the village. Raed Amer, the head of a prisoners' rights association linked to Yasser Arafat's Palestinian authority, was among those taken away.
By early afternoon the operation was still underway, residents trapped in their homes by the curfew said on telephone.
They said that soldiers entered the village early today, spilling out of some 20 jeeps, while tanks surrounded the community and a helicopter gunship provided air cover, firing in the vicinity.
Soldiers also arrested 19 other Palestinians, including militants of radical Islamic groups, in the city of Bethlehem, the nearby village of Maassara and two Palestinian nearby refugee camps, security sources said.
Those arrested in Bethlehem included Mohamad Zawahra, Fatah militant and student union chief from al-Qods open University, who was among scores of militants trapped inside Bethlehem's church of the nativity earlier this year.
Israeli troops had also arrested six other Palestinian in the West Bank before dawn, the army said.

Bureau Report