By DPA
Ramallah : Palestinian security forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas arrested 22 Hamas activists near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, the Islamic movement said in a statement Wednesday.
According to the statement, the security forces in about 17 vehicles raided the village of Assirah Shamaliya, adjacent to Nablus, early in the morning and made those arrests. The raid lasted about six hours.
Palestinian security officials said the raid was part of a security plan to restore law and order in the city. Those arrested were “involved in security and criminal offences,” they said.
The raid came on the eve of a visit to the city of Acting Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Interior Minister Abdul Razzak Yehya and US Consul-General in Jerusalem Jacob Wallace, the first of a US official since the Palestinian Authority began implementing a security plan in Nablus.
Wallace’s visit was intended to launch US-backed business projects in the troubled city.
US security coordinator Keith Dayton was in Nablus late Tuesday to oversee the implementation of the security plan.