Israeli troops arrest Palestinian police

Israeli troops swooped on the West Bank village of Azun before dawn yesterday and arrested members of Yasser Arafat's police force and his Fatah movement.

The raid intensifies a policy evidently aimed at weakening or eliminating the middle level supporters of Mr Arafat or members of his security forces. At least 17 Palestinians were arrested.

The troops were led by undercover units dressed as Arabs. They imposed a curfew and conducted a house-to-house search, arresting five of Mr Arafat's policemen, including three from the intelligence services.

A number of the others arrested are activists in his mainstream Fatah movement, which opposes suicide bombs and attacks in Israel.

Fatah and the security forces are responsible for enforcing the ceasefire which Mr Arafat declared earlier this month, facing down opposition from radical Islamist groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Later yesterday an Israeli helicopter gunship killed a Palestinian during a battle between soldiers and gunmen in the West Bank, and tanks entered the city of Jenin and shelled a house where the army said gunmen had taken refuge.

Israel says the assaults on Palestinian villages, which have accelerated since mid-December, were ordered because Mr Arafat's security forces had failed to arrest radical militants from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who have carried out the suicide bombings and shooting attacks in Israel.

The same rationale was used by Israel to explain its decision to bar Mr Arafat from the Christmas Eve celebrations in Bethlehem.

But even Israel's chief rabbi, Israel Meir Lau, said on Tuesday that imposing restrictions on worship was "unwise", adding his voice to the chorus of criticism from the European Union, America and the Vatican.

Palestinian officials said that the arrests in Azun were a provocation.

"Among those arrested are three members of the general intelligence service who are working on the implementation of the president's orders to abide by a ceasefire," said a Fatah official, Ahmed Hazza.

The arrests form part of a pattern which includes dismantling Mr Arafat's administration by bombing police buildings, destroying other infrastructure, and arresting personnel.

But although Israel publicly dismissed the importance of Mr Arafat's call on Palestinian militants to suspend their attacks, and clings to the notion that he and his administration are "no longer relevant", the truce has largely held.

Behind the scenes the two sides have worked steadily to consolidate it. Yesterday security chiefs met for the first time for a week and a Palestinian official said they had agreed to allow repairs to Gaza international airport, damaged by Israeli troops.

Israel also agreed to extend the opening hours of the Rafah border crossing to Egypt and ease curbs on Gazan workers and traders entering Israel.

There were also consultations between the Israeli foreign minister, Shimon Peres, and the Speaker of the Palestinian assembly, Ahmed Koreia.

· The Israeli defence minister, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, became leader of the Labour party yesterday when his rival, the parliamentary speaker Avraham Burg, conceded defeat in the re-run election.