Saturday, August 13, 2005

During overnight raids, Israeli soldiers arrested 10 people, allegedly members of Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian militant group. The raids were conducted during two operations near the towns of Jenin and Nablus. An M-16 rifle was also discovered during the raid near Jenin.

Meanwhile, Hamas, a group friendly to Islamic Jihad, made a rare public appearance 2 days before the Israeli pull-out of settlers and troops from The Gaza Strip. They defied the Palestinian Authority by draping themselves in the colours of the group. On Friday, Palestinian Authority officials said only the Palestinian banner of red, black, green and white should be used to celebrate the withdrawal of Israel from Palestinian territory.

Hamas are planning to run in the parliamentary elections to be held in January, next year.