[Fredricka Whitfield, Cnn Anchor:] Turning now to the crisis in the Middle East with an Israeli roundup of Palestinians in the West Bank. Israel's army says its house-to-house raids netted arrests of 130 suspected members of the militant group Hamas. Let's go now to Jerusalem, where CNN's Matthew Chance is standing by with the very latest. Hi there, Matthew.
[Matthew Chance, Cnn Correspondent:] Fredricka, thank you very much. In fact, the Israeli army say they've detained as many as 150 Palestinians in what they say is an operation to crack down on the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Most of those arrested, some 130 of them, are being made in the West Bank city of Hebron. But at least another 24, we're told, have been detained in Nablus, which is also in the West Bank. Israeli officials say Hamas activists in Hebron are responsible for the killing of 52 Israeli citizens in the past 12 months. But, of course, their decision to crackdown now, which is already prompting clashes in Hebron itself, is a very controversial one, coming as it does as Hamas leaders apparently move closer to suspending their attacks against Israelis after intensive negotiations with the Palestinian authorities and others. Concern this latest Israeli action, these arrested, has been expressed by the United Nations. Terje Roed-Larsen is the U.N. special envoy to the Middle East.
[Terje Roed-larsen, U.n. Envoy To Middle East:] There is a very difficult security situation on the ground, which is particularly felt on the Israeli side, both by the people and by the government. However, these actions very efficiently undercuts the authority of the new Palestinian prime minister, Abu Mazen, and it illustrates how important it is now as fast as possible to hand over security responsibility to the security forces of the Palestinian Authority, and to rebuild these forces so that they are robust in order to address the security problems.
[Chance:] Palestinian officials have also been sharply critical of those Israeli arrests, saying they not just undermine the Palestinian Authority, but also the U.S.-backed road map peace plan. Israeli officials for their part say these arrests will only help the Palestinians once if they assume responsibility for security in Palestinian areas Fredricka.
[Whitfield:] Matthew Chance, thank you very much. The Israeli offensive comes as Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas lobbies Hamas and other militant groups to agree to that cease- fire. In fact, some Palestinian leaders say the Israeli round-up is little more than a ploy to sabotage those efforts. CNN's senior international correspondent Sheila MacVicar is in Gaza City, joining us through the videophone Sheila.
[Sheila Macvicar, Cnn Intl. Correspondent:] Hello, Fredricka. The question of this cease-fire is indeed one of the key questions, and as Matthew was talking about the detentions overnight of 130-plus Palestinian men in Hebron and other Palestinian cities in the West Bank, is now one of those issues which is feeding into the ongoing discussion between members of Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups. There are a couple of issues, not only the question of these detentions, but also the question of where is the body of a Palestinian militant who was killed by the Israeli forces on Saturday night, Abdullah Kuwasmah. His body is apparently still in the custody of the Israelis, and Palestinian sources here in Gaza have made clear that until his body is returned, and until he is buried, there will be no announcement on any cease-fire. Now, the context of the discussion of the cease-fire, there had been a demand from the Palestinian Authority that this be an open- ended cease-fire. Instead it seems the militant groups are talking about something perhaps between three, maybe six months in length. And the question is really not the question of a cease-fire, per se, but what happens during the cease-fire. The Israelis, of course, have expressed their concern, saying they are very much afraid that the militant groups will use this period of time as a chance to reorganize, rearm and then relaunch terror strikes against the Israelis. What they want to see is that if there is a cease-fire, that it move very quickly through a process of disarmament. Now we're told, we hear from Cairo, where there are currently senior members of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad leadership, the exterior leadership of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Cairo, meeting with Egyptian officials. We're hearing, according to the Egyptians who are very much involved in this process, that a cease-fire may possibly be announced in the next few days Fredricka.
[Whitfield:] All right, Sheila MacVicar, thanks very much for that report. Hamas