Israeli tanks streamed into the Palestinian city of Hebron Thursday and soldiers started searching for activists, witnesses said. The city was placed under a curfew.
Witnesses told Reuters tanks took up positions in the city shortly before dawn. They were accompanied by armored troop carriers and bulldozers.
An Israeli army spokesman said "a military action to hit the infrastructure of terror" was under way in the city.
The Israeli army said its forces detained 19 activists overnight in the West Bank, including five in the Hebron area. The others were taken into custody in the cities of Nablus, Jenin and Tulkarem.
Meanwhile, IOF troops raided a police station in Haouz, just south of Hebron, detaining the police commander, Khaled Madhoun, witnesses said.
Elsewhere in the West Bank, Israeli soldiers raided Nablus city and imposed a curfew on the citizens, witnesses said. The soldiers also raided several houses, witnesses confirmed, adding that a massive detention spree was carried out in the re-occupied city.
Clashed erupted between soldiers and Palestinian youths who threw stones at Israeli armored vehicles.
In the southern Gaza town of Rafah, an Israeli force demolished three houses and partly destroyed 18 others overnight, witnesses said. The demolitions occurred in an area near Rafiah Yam, a Jewish settlement in the area. (Albawaba.com)
