AL QUDS, Oct 19: The army nabbed nine Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, while four soldiers were lightly wounded, the military and Palestinian security sources said on Saturday.

Four wanted men from Hamas and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s mainstream Fatah movement were arrested by the army in the West Bank town of Nablus, the army said.

Four soldiers were slightly wounded when they blasted their way into the building where the activists were hiding out, the army said. Meanwhile, a Palestinian was arrested in Beit Furik and one in Issawyeh, both south of Nablus, the army said.

In Ramallah, two brothers, Ala Jaber, 26, and Abed Jaber, 24, were taken by 20 Israeli soldiers who surrounded their family home in the middle of the night, the siblings’ family said.

Their father, Naji Abdul Jaber, accused the soldiers of stealing a mobile phone and 2,000 shekels (420 dollars).

“My sons were not arrested before. They are not involved in political acts and I don’t know why they arrested them,” Naji Abdul Jabar, 54, said.

The army said they were not aware of the incident but confirmed two people were detained north of Ramallah on Friday.

In the Gaza Strip, the army said it had arrested a Palestinian by the Gush Katif settlement bloc in the southern Gaza Strip.—AFP