Hamas anger over Jordan boycott

Jordanian authorities put the weapons on display

Palestinian officials have criticised Jordan's decision to cancel a visit to Amman by Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahhar of the Hamas militant group.

Amman announced it had postponed the trip indefinitely after discovering arms and explosives it said were smuggled into Jordan by Hamas members.

It said this was proof that Hamas had been saying one thing and doing another in its dealings with Jordan.

A Hamas official said the Jordanian accusations were false.

Spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Hamas had no interest in intervening in the internal affairs of other countries.

We reject and condemn these accusations by the Jordanian government spokesman and confirm this is false Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas spokesman

Jordanian officials said the weapons were seized in the last couple of days and included "missiles, explosives and automatic weapons".

Pictures of weapons were shown on Jordanian television, although their authenticity could not be verified.

Mr Zahhar's visit to Jordan would have been the first by a top Hamas leader since Amman expelled the group's leadership in 1999.

The militant group won Palestinian parliamentary elections in January.

Scepticism

Correspondents say the Jordanian leadership privately supports US-led efforts to isolate the Palestinian government unless Hamas changes its anti-Israeli policies.

BBC correspondent Jon Leyne says there is bound to be scepticism about Jordan's claims among Hamas supporters, especially about their timing.

Prime Minister Ismail Haniya has meanwhile rejected growing pressure on Hamas in the form of cuts in international aid.

"Your visit is proof that this country is more important than money, that dignity is more important than dollars," he said to a group of police officers who had come to express solidarity with the government.

All civil servants face disruption in payment of their salaries because of financial measures taken against the Hamas-led government.

In other moves, four senior Hamas officials in Jerusalem are planning to contest an Israeli decision to revoke their residency rights in the city.

The move was Israel's response to a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv on Monday, which was carried out by the Islamic Jihad militant group but defended by Hamas officials.

Israel occupied the eastern half of Jerusalem in 1967 and claims the whole city as its exclusive capital. It issues special residency permits for Palestinians living there.

Palestinians without permits are prevented from entering the city from the West Bank by a system of military checkpoints.

Clashes

Clashes in Nablus followed an Israeli army raid

In the northern West Bank city of Nablus, Israeli troops clashed with hundreds of Palestinian stone throwers during an army raid.

The troops fired tear gas, rubber-coated steel pellets and some live rounds, witnesses said. Seven Palestinians were wounded, medics said.

Earlier, about 30 Israeli military vehicles entered the town searching for wanted militants.

They briefly detained at least four female relatives of suspects, Palestinian security officials said.

Israeli troops also arrested a Palestinian man carrying explosives at a checkpoint at the entrance to the city.