RAMALLAH – The Israeli occupation authorities on Tuesday closed a road near the West Bank city of Ramallah. Palestinians security sources said that an Israeli military bulldozer closed the road from the entrance of the Jewish settlement of Beit El to the northern entrance of Ramallah. The closed section is located in Area C. The sources said that the Israeli authorities closed the road under the pretext Palestinian youths from the refugee camp of Jalazoun hurl stones at Jewish settlers in the area. The road connects Ramallah with the Palestinian cities in northern West Bank. It also Ramallah with its northern villages, home to 60,000 Palestinian residents. Palestinian residents were obliged to use alternative roads to reach their universities, businesses and work places in various West Bank cities. According to the Oslo Accords, Area A is under Palestinian administrative and security control, Area B under Palestinian administrative control but under Israeli security one, the Area C is under full Israeli control. Area C, which today constitutes about 60 percent of West Bank land, is a geographic area created in negotiations between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1995. Meanwhile, Israeli forces operating in several Palestinian areas arrested 22 “wanted” Palestinian residents, Palestinian and Israeli sources said. The Palestinian sources said that the residents were arrested from the area of Hebron, Nablus, Qalqilyah and Tulkarm. The sources added that the soldiers thoroughly searched the houses of detainees before arresting them. The Israeli army spokesman's unit said that in a statement the eighteen were wanted for Israeli security forces and were taken in for questioning by agents of Shin Bet, the Israeli internal intelligence. The statement added that the Israeli soldiers discovered Soldiers discovered and seized two hunting rifles, a handgun and ammunition during the operation in the town of Halhoul, to the north of Hebron. The weapons were turned over to the Israeli police. The Palestinian Authority (PA) says that the daily Israeli raids in the West Bank cities and villages hinder its security forces to tighten their grip on the Palestinian territories. Israel does not allow the PA to have any security role in specific areas in the West Bank that the 1993 Oslo peace agreement between the two sides classified as C areas, which makes up more than 60 percent of the West Bank lands.
