Israeli troops sweep into West Bank town

In the biggest sweep in months, Israeli troops hunting for militants stormed dozens of homes in the West Bank town of Nablus today, ordering Palestinians to line up in the dawn chill as tanks blocked roads and helicopters hovered above.

Several explosions were heard in the Casbah, apparently set off by soldiers busting open doors.

Tanks sealed all exits from the Casbah, a maze of alleys and underground passages and the scene of fierce fighting in April. Troops took over a nearby girls’ school as a makeshift base.

The raid was triggered by a weekend shooting attack on an Israeli kibbutz in which a gunman from the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, a militia linked to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, killed five Israelis, including two little boys.

Israel says the gunman came from the Tulkarem refugee camp, which was raided yesterday, and that he was sent by militiamen in Nablus.

The Nablus sweep came hours after Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his Likud Party that his first priority, if elected prime minister in January, will be to expel Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Although Netanyahu has repeatedly called for Arafat’s exile, it took on new meaning after he became a key figure in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s government last week.

Netanyahu is challenging Sharon for party leadership in a primary election on November 28.

Sharon, who was greeted by booming applause at last night’s Likud convention, distanced himself from his rival’s comment. Sharon has never publicly advocated expelling Arafat, but is known to support the idea.