Israeli and Palestinian security forces have arrested 23 Arabs who planned major attacks to disrupt the peace process, including at least one suspect reportedly linked to Osama bin Laden, a senior Israeli security official was quoted by The Associated Press as saying.
The suspects, who include 20 Palestinians and three Israeli Arabs, all belong to militant Islamic groups, said the official.
Israel's Shin Bet arrested 10 Palestinians and the three Israelis.
Palestinian security forces arrested 10 others, added the AP.
An official at Prime Minister Ehud Barak's office confirmed the arrests and said the Prime Minister saw the act as a "very important step" in combatting terrorism.
The two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not say when the arrests took place. Israeli radio reports said the men were arrested over a period of months, some dating back to April.
A spokeswoman for Jibril Rjoub, the Palestinian security chief in the West Bank, said he was abroad and unavailable for comment, the AP said.
Last week, the US State Department issued a travel advisory warning Americans living in Israel and the Palestinian areas to be alert for attacks.
US embassy spokesman Larry Schwartz said he did not know if there was any link between the arrests and the advisory.
According to the AP, Israeli radio reports said attacks planned by those arrested included launching a missile at a Jewish settlement in the West Bank and abducting soldiers.
Israel radio identified one of the ringleaders as Nabil Okal, a resident of the Gaza Strip.
The radio reported that Hamas sent Okal to Pakistan three years ago to study terror techniques with bin Laden's organization.
Bin Laden, a Saudi militant who is on the US wanted list for the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania which claimed 224 lives, is believed to be based in Afghanistan.
Palestinians who witnessed the scuffle said it began when two guards had escorted security chief Rjoub, who was in Jerusalem in the morning, off the site and tried to return, but were prevented by Israeli police, who demanded they show identification, said the agency.
The Palestinian witnesses said police began beating one of the guards when he refused to show identification, saying his status as a guard exempted him. That drew other Palestinians into the fight.
"They beat our people for no reason," said the director of the mosque, Adnan Husseini. "This is a clear message that this city won't be quiet unless the Israeli occupation will end." - Albawaba.com
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
