More Palestinian suspects detained

Security remains high in Israel and the West Bank

Israeli troops have seized eight suspected Palestinian militants during an overnight incursion into the West Bank town of Hebron.

The Israeli army said the eight men were members of the radical Islamic group Hamas, while the Palestinians said the detainees were students.

Palestinian sources said there'd been some shooting in the two-hour incident, but there were no injuries.

Israeli commandos backed by armoured vehicles and with support from a helicopter entered a Palestinian-controlled section of Hebron before dawn and searched a student dormitory.

Israel continues to search for suspected militants

The raid was the second in the past two days.

On Wednesday, Israeli forces arrested 18 suspected militants during a raid on Azzoun, a West Bank village under joint Israeli and Palestinian control.

The latest incidents prompted Palestinian complaint that Israel was sabotaging Yasser Arafat's ceasefire efforts.

They came as tensions on the ground appeared to defuse considerably.

Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said attacks against his country had lessened but stressed that any resumption of peace negotiations was still a long way off.

"Even though we are seeing a drop in terror attacks, the Palestinian Authority still has a long way to go", Mr Sharon said in a statement.

'No negotiations'

"There will be no diplomatic negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority until the terror ends completely."

Mr Sharon's comments were seen as a reference to his Foreign Minister Shimon Peres who has been holding talks with the Palestinian Parliament Speaker Ahmed Queira about the framework for a possible peace deal.

"When the day comes for peace talks, I will run them," Mr Sharon said.

Also on Thursday, Israel insisted that it will not let Mr Arafat attend Orthodox Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem on 6 January unless he arrests the assassins of an Israeli cabinet minister.

Members of Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction were arrested in Wednesday's raid on Azzoun

Israel drew worldwide criticism for barring the Palestinian leader from this week's Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem.

But in another sign of lessened tensions on the ground, Israeli and Palestinian security officials were reported to be meeting for the second time in two days in the Gaza Strip.

They were due to discuss the implementation of measures agreed on Wednesday, including the opening of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt and repairing Gaza International Airport, which was damaged by Israeli troops.