Israeli troops sweep into Bethlehem

Israeli soldiers swept through Bethlehem yesterday for the first time in six months and demolished the family home of a Palestinian policeman who killed 10 Israelis in a suicide bombing on a Jerusalem bus.

About 15 armoured vehicles rolled into the West Bank city before daybreak and pulled out in the afternoon, ending what the army called an operation to detain wanted militants.

Palestinian sources said 12 people were taken into custody. The army said it arrested five Palestinians on its wanted list.

An Israeli security source called the raid a "measured response" to the bombing on Thursday. But Palestinian President Yasser Arafat called the incursion a "conspiracy against peace".

Two groups, Hamas and al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, issued separate claims of responsibility for the bombing that occurred on the same day Israel and the Lebanese guerilla group Hizbollah swapped prisoners.

Israeli Vice Premier Ehud Olmert said the attack put another nail "in the coffin of the 'road map'" - a US-backed peace plan stalled by violence.

In Gaza, Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin threatened to kidnap Israeli troops, saying it was the only way to gain the release of some 7,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails.

His remarks were particularly jarring to Israelis, given that many believe Israel already paid too high a price by trading more than 400 Arab prisoners - mostly Palestinians - for a kidnapped Israeli businessman and three dead soldiers.

In fresh bloodshed, soldiers near the West Bank city of Hebron shot dead a Hamas militant the army said had opened fire on them as they entered his house to arrest him.