Italian coast guards intercepted an Egyptian fishing vessel carrying 128 migrants believed to be Palestinians off the coast of Sicily, police said yesterday.

Seven Egyptian crew members were later arrested on charges of favouring illegal immigration when the vessel was brought to the port of Catania after it initially tried to flee the coast guard patrol during the night.

Officers are conducting health checks on the migrants, the police said.

In return for major financial compensation, Libya in 2008 agreed to accept the return of undocumented immigrants who left from its shores for Italy. The deal has led to a 90 per cent drop in arrivals, the Italian government said.

The biggest recent arrival was in August when 120 migrants from Iraq and Afghanistan landed on the shores of the southern region of Calabria.

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