Israeli soldiers raid refugee camp, arrest 400

The Israeli army detained about 400 Palestinian suspects for questioning today, as CIA chief George Tenet was due to arrive for talks with leaders from both sides.

Troops also imposed a curfew on the remaining residents in the Ain Bet-Alma refugee camp in the West Bank city of Nablus.

Tanks surrounded the camp and soldiers using loudspeakers called on all men between the ages of 15 and 50 to come out of their homes. About 400 were taken away in four buses and two trucks to a nearby army base.

The army has been searching for militants in Nablus and another nearby refugee camp, Balata, for the past three days.

Yesterday, troops blew up two houses where the army said it found workshops where suicide bombs were being made.

Soldiers also entered the West Bank city of Qalqilya today. Israeli troops have raided West Bank cities or villages in recent weeks, usually for short periods to make arrests of suspected militants.

But today’s operation in Nablus was much larger, with dozens of armoured vehicles involved.

The searches came as CIA chief George Tenet was due to arrive in Israel for talks with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat about reforming Palestinian security organisations.

Washington has demanded that Arafat’s regime must become more democratic and that the number of Palestinian security agencies be sharply reduced.

Sharon was expected to meet Tenet this evening, an aide said.

After 20 months of fighting that has left Palestinian institutions and their economy in ruins, Arafat has come under strong pressure to restructure the Palestinian government.

But his definition of reform is likely to differ sharply from what his critics, including the US and Israel,

hope to see.

‘‘The question is whether the Palestinians are taking this seriously,’’ said Danny Seaman, an Israeli government spokesman.

Western diplomats have descended on the region in recent days, and all have stressed the importance of Palestinian reforms.

Tenet held talks yesterday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the first stop on a six-nation Mideast tour to gauge Arab support for changes in the Palestinian Authority.