Israel Defense Forces soldiers late Saturday arrested a top Hamas official in Ramallah, suspected of leading military cells responsible for the murder of more than 70 Israelis over the course of the second Intifada.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Saturday evening signed an order to extend a security lockdown in the West Bank to prevent Palestinians entering Jerusalem after a weekend of protests and rioting in the city.
The Defense Ministry plans to launch “Stage 3” of its cabinet-sanctioned crackdown on new construction in West Bank settlements next week, including a major police roundup of those who violate the moratorium.
Fearing a repeat of Arab rioting over Israel’s national heritage list, the IDF sealed off the West Bank on Friday, while police boosted their presence in Jerusalem.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak Thursday ordered the Israel Defense Forces to impose a general closure on the West Bank, preventing Palestinians from entering Israel.
Some 50,000 new housing units in Jerusalem neighborhoods beyond the Green Line are in various stages of planning and approval, planning officials told Haaretz.
Palestinians will not begin indirect talks with Israel unless the Israeli government annuls a decision to build 1,600 houses in East Jerusalem, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Thursday.
Israel has decided to stop pursuing dozens of West Bank-based members of Fatah’s armed wing, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, Palestinian sources said on Tuesday.
