ISRAELI security forces have seized Palestinian suspects across the West Bank, hours before new talks between Israeli leader Ariel Sharon (pictured on right) and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas (pictured on left). At least 50 suspected Islamic Jihad militants were arrested, Israeli military sources said. It is the first wave of arrests on such a scale against the group in six months and follows attacks on Israeli targets. An Israeli military source is quoted as saying that 36 suspects were detained in the cities of Hebron and Bethlehem, in the south of the West Bank, while 14 more were arrested in Ramallah, Qalqilya and Jenin in the north. It will only be the second time the two men have met since Abbas came to power and the first time the top Palestinian and Israeli leaders have met in Jerusalem, claimed by Israel as its exclusive capital despite Palestinian objections.
